The Spotted Sandpiper

By Al Lowe
Contributor

In Northwestern Ontario, full of lakes, steams, ponds and so on, almost everyone must have seen our most common sandpiper. It is the Spotted Sandpiper (Actitus macularia).
In the spring and summer, it is almost unmistakable - both in plumage and actions. Basically, this bird is brown on top and white underneath. But it is easily distinguished from its relations by the round black spots all over its breast and belly. No other sandpiper has this particular type of breast coloration.
In the fall, however, the old birds lose their spots and the young ones haven't got any yet. So their feathers are just basically brown and white. But they always have pale yellowish legs.
The Spotted Sandpiper can also easily be identified by its actions. First of all, it continually 'teeters', as if it could never quite get in balance. At the same time, its tail goes up and down at a great rate.
As you watch it teeter, you will also hear its note - a strong, loud 'peet' or 'peet-peet'.
The flight of this little shorebird is also a bit different. It seems to fly with stiff wings, beating quickly, for a short distance, then run again, all the while keeping up this 'peeting'.
This bird breeds in almost all of Canada, except the very far north. It is probably one of the most common birds in Ontario, certainly the most common sandpiper.
Look for it near water. It seems to especially like sandy beaches, wide river banks, and edges of small lakes or ponds..
The Spotted Sandpiper usually (but not always) nests near the water. The nest is a poorly constructed affair, just a hollow in the ground, with a bit of grass or moss to line it. It may be hidden in the grass, among the rocks, or even under a dead tree or under a piece of driftwood.
It usually lays four eggs, which are pale brown with dark brown spots. As with many of these shorebirds, most of the hatching is done by the male bird.
And here is an unusual bit of behaviour. The female is polyandrous, which means that she will mate with more than one male during the breeding season. She may, and often does, produce clutches of eggs for two or three different males during a single summer. The males, however, are monogamous, sticking with only one female during the entire nesting season. Now, isn't that a switch?
In the fall, these little sandpipers tend to migrate in huge numbers along with other shore birds. Their wintering grounds can be anywhere from the southern States and Mexico to halfway down South America. Sandpipers, along with snipe, curlews, dowitchers and others, move in immense flocks, largely along the sea shores.
This little bird seems to have taken civilization in its stride. It breeds all over Ontario, from the lake front in Toronto to the wilderness of James and Hudson Bay.
Keep a lookout for this funny little shorebird, with its odd actions and loud whistle. It is the commonest sandpiper of all.