Home»Gallery»Bay Area -- Coast to Hills»Along the Bay»10/6/2012 Least Sandpiper at Don Edwards Refuge, Alviso

Anne Creevy led her birding class to the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Reserve in Alviso. She spotted something while driving along the causeway on the way in. Viola!? She thought/hoped it was a pair of rare Pectoral Sandpipers (Calidris melanotos), foraging near the road. We stopped right there -- the little traffic could squeeze by. After seeing these images, Anne and other birding experts concluded that these are the more common Lease Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla). Much smaller than the Pectorals, but size is hard to judge at a distance with no easy reference points. (c) 2012 Dan Quinn.