Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

(Calidris minutilla)

  • Size: 5.1-5.9" long // 10.6-11" wingspan
  • Diet: amphipods, isopods, gastropods, horseshoe crab eggs, water fleas, midges and flies, beetles, and dragonflies
  • Seasonal Habits: Migrate in winter
  • Temperament: Not Aggressive

Least Sandpipers are the smallest of the small sandpipers known as 'peeps', not much bigger than a sparrow. They have distinctive yellow-green legs and a high-pitched 'creep' call. Look for them on edges of mudflats or marshes, where they walk with a hunched posture and probe for little crustaceans, insects, and other invertebrates. This common but declining shorebird migrates thousands of miles between its arctic breeding grounds and wintering grounds as far south as Chile and Brazil.