What’s a Shorebird?

Shorebirds are, in general, small birds with long legs relative to body size that use their relatively long bills to forage for invertebrates in saturated mud or sand. Some of these species are striking and bold like the bright black and white Black-necked Stilt with bright pink legs (right). While many species are often lumped together as “peeps” - small drab brown shorebirds that are too difficult to identify individual species (below). However, with practice and a good scope or pair of binoculars these little brown birds open up a whole new world of fascinating species and behaviors.

©Handmaker

©Karis Ritenour

Migration

The vast majority of shorebirds migrate, and they are some of the most impressive migrations on earth. Take for example, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (right). This bird weighs roughly the same as two double-A batteries (2.2 oz) and migrates all the way from the high arctic where they breed to southern South America for the winter and back every year, about 18,000 miles round trip. Shorebirds are unable to soar, so they flap their wings every inch of the way. They don’t stop very often on their migration route but when they do it’s incredibly important they have habitat with abundant resources to refuel.

Scientifically speaking, shorebirds belong to the order Charadriiformes along with gulls and auks. The families of shorebirds found in Louisiana include: Charadriidae, Haematopodidae, Recurvirostridae, and Scolopacidae.

“Shorebirds” can be a misnomer, since many of these species can be found inland in ponds, marshes, and even flooded agricultural fields (left). A few species, such as the Upland Sandpiper and Buff-breasted Sandpiper (below) even frequent more upland habitat such as grasslands, pastures, and sod farms.

©Brad Winn

Louisiana

A few species, like the Black-necked Stilt and Killdeer, breed in Louisiana and may stay here year-round. There are also some species, like some American Avocets and Red Knots, that spend the whole winter along the shores of the Gulf Coast. However, the majority of the nearly 40 species of shorebird seen in Louisiana throughout the year are migrating through on their way to their breeding grounds up north or wintering grounds in South America. Louisiana is a very important stopover site within the Midcontinent Flyway in both spring and fall. For many species it is the last stop in the fall before crossing the open Gulf of Mexico to South America, and the first stop in North America on their way north in the spring.

Abundant rainfall and crops that require working wetlands, such as rice and crawfish, ensure that Louisiana stays relatively wet and inviting to shorebirds despite drying or drought conditions in many other states within the Midcontinent, especially in the spring when rice is just being planted. One of the most important management needs for shorebirds who migrate through Louisiana is an increase in shallow wetland habitat during the fall migration.

©Manomet