Visitors 401
Modified 11-May-13
Created 24-Jun-10
67 photos

Shorebirds include the: avocets, oystercatchers, phalaropes, plovers, sandpipers, stilts, snipes, and turnstones. In general, they have long and thin legs with little to no webbing on their feet. They are usually small bodied with long thin bills. The differences in their bill lengths and shape allow the different shorebird species to forage for food within their habitat either on dry soil, mud, or in shallow water. They can be found in inter-tidal mudflats, estuaries, or salt marshes. Shorebird migration spans a great distance. The migratory paths are influenced by geography, wind, and weather patterns. During the spring, summer and fall migration, shorebirds rest and feed at stopover locations. Shorebirds eat a variety of invertebrate prey such as worms, insect larva, amphipods, copepods, crustaceans, and mollusks. - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca Bombay Hook NWR Smyrna DE walking low angle

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Common Tern

Common Tern

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmer

Killdeer

Killdeer

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Willet

Willet

Black-bellied Plover in breeding plumage

Black-bellied Plover in breeding plumage

Red Knot

Red Knot