Western Sandpiper June 8th 2025


Thought by some to be the world's most common Sandpiper species with roughly 3.5 million mature individuals, this little Calidris beauty is very uncommon here in the UK, though given the identification challenges faced by the average birder, I wouldn't be surprised if more of these went unnoticed.  Every four or so years one is found, and they're found almost anywhere coastal.  This particular one has been at Maidens harbour in Ayrshire for over six months, and (understandably) identified as Little Stint, possible Semi-Palmated Sandpiper (which they very closely resemble in some plumages) and I'm sure dismissed by the unsuspecting as other waders too.  If I didn't have the benefit of other peoples' expertise, I have no doubt I would have mis-identified it.





I finally travelled with Kris to see the bird today, and it was one of those days where you just get the timing right.  Arriving at 8.30am as the tide was almost fully in, the Western Sandpiper flew into the harbour as we parked and we saw a birder find it and kindly share its location with us as we put on coats and optical gear. For 40 minutes it fed no more than 10 metres from us allowing us to fill our boots with viewing the main ID features and taking a couple of photos (701...).  As it flew away over the sandy beach, we spent another couple of hours watching Rock Pipits, an Eider creche and distant Manx Shearwaters around the base of Ailsa Craig.  




This encounter reminded me of the American Pipit I spent time with up close in Northumberland back in early February - a subtle and beautiful bird so close in that sometimes I wondered if it would feed around our feet.

Sometimes words are not necessary: the bird speaks for itself and views like this are a treat.





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