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Bishop, Mary Anne and Nils and Sarah Warnock. 1997. Marvels of migration: the northward flight of the western sandipiper. Tideline Vol 17 No. 2 1-3. Marvels of migration: the northward flight of the Western Sandpiperby Mary Anne Bishop
The Western Sandpiper, a small bird weighing less than an ounce, is the most numerous shorebird along the Pacific Flywa |
The
migration of birds has fascinated people since the time of Aristotle, and continues
to intrigue us today. One of the most impressive demonstrations of bird migration
occurs from mid-April to the beginning of May at San Francisco Bay. Walk, sail,
or bicycle to areas of the Bay where you can see exposed mudflats, and you
will see thousands of shorebirds. Even a quick glance to
the mudflats as you drive across the Dumbarton or San Mateo bridges
at low tide will reveal thousands of shorebirds gathered along the shoreline
eating worms and clams as fast as they can, to prepare for a migration that
will take them to the northern reaches of the continent. San Francisco Bay
Estuary, including San Francisco and San Pablo bays, is recognized as a site
of hemispheric importance for shorebirds, based on estimates of as many as
1,000,000 shorebirds passing through on a single day during peak spring migration
periods. The majority of both wintering and migrating individuals are made
up of one species, the Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri). Last updated:
May 27, 2008
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