Upland Sandpiper

Have You Seen an Upland Sandpiper?

Upland Sandpiper [J Pierce Photo]

The Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) (family Scolopacidae) is a rare local resident in New Brunswick.  It was first reported in 1969 and 1970 from large fields at Salisbury.  Since then it has been seen in many places throughout the province:  Pennfield, Maugerville, Tantramar, Rexton, Pointe-Sapin, Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, and Saint-Isidore.  It prefers large fields, sod farms, pastures, and air fields.  It is our only sandpiper that does not need to be near water.  

The Upland Sandpiper breeds from Maine and New Brunswick westward across southern Canada to Alaska, southeast to Oklahoma and eastward to New England.  It winters in South America from southern Brazil to southern Argentina.  

The Upland Sandpiper is a unique species because of its shape, plumage and behaviour.  It is not easy to see this bird in the huge fields it inhabits.  Sometimes you can see its head above the vegetation.  Other times you can hear its unique descending call or its wolf whistle.  It sometimes perches on posts and shows a tail-bobbing behaviour.  

The Upland Sandpiper is related to the curlews.  It has an elongated neck, long legs, and long tail and wings.  It has a short, straight bill which is yellow with a black tip.  It is generally brown streaked on the back and head.  The neck and breast are streaked with brown and there are chevrons on the sides.  The belly is white.  The legs are yellow.  In flight they show black primaries.  

These sandpipers feed on insects, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, earthworms and snails.  They also eat seeds and grains.  This species nests on the ground where they make a depression and line it with grass.  The eggs are pale pinky buff.  Both adults incubate the eggs for 21 to 27 days.  The young fledge in 30 to 31 days.  

The Upland Sandpiper population has undergone steady declines since the mid-nineteenth century due to hunting and habitat loss due to agricultural practices.  They arrive in our area in early May and begin their fall movement south from August to mid-September.   If you want to see them this year, you need to go looking now.