Western Sandpipers Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March Birds

Summary: Western sandpipers are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March birds whom the National Audubon Society acclaims for abiding at Arctic, near-Arctic America.

Semipalmated and western sandpipers sometimes may be misidentified, but semipalmateds have smaller heads and rounder bodies; semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) under synonym of Tringa semipalmata; winter plumage (left), summer plumage (right); Drawn from Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S., F.L.S.; Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell, 1838; John James Audubon, The Birds of America, No. 81, Plate CCCCV: No copyright--United States (NoC--US), via ULS (University of Pittsburgh Library System)

Western sandpipers are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March birds whom the National Audubon Society acclaims for abiding at Arctic, near-Arctic America, and for accessing also as Canadian, Mexican and Unitedstatesian migrants.

The Charadriiformes (from Greek χαραδριός, “Eurasian stone curlew [Burhinus oedicnemus]” via Latin charadrius, “plover” and Latin -fōrmis, “-shaped”) shorebird order member breeds between May and September. The Scolopacidae (from Greek σκολόπαξ, “woodcock [Scolopax rusticola]” via Latin scolopax and Greek -ειδής, “-like” via Latin –idæ) family member claims drier, raised islands and ridges. Calidris mauri (from Greek καλίδρις, “gray waterside bird” and Latin maurī, “North African”), described by Jean Louis Cabanis (March 8, 1816-Feb. 20, 1906), dwells among marshes.

Male western sandpipers effectuate shallow-scraped depressions on surface-level ground under dwarf birch, heath or plant tufts even as sandpiper nests exist in isolation or loose colonies.

map of geographical distribution of western sandpiper; orange=breeding, yellow=migration, blue=non-breeding; adapted from BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World (2016) 2013 Calidris mauri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2: Simon Pierre Barrette (Cephas), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Western sandpiper fathers-to-be furnish their ground-scraped, nest-friendly depressions with interior linings fashioned from such plant material as leaves and lichen fragments for 38- to 39-day parenting.

Western sandpiper 1.5- to 3-inch- (3.81- to 7.62-centimeter-) deep, 2.25- to 4-inch- (5.72- to 10.16-centimeter-) high nests guard 2- to 3-inch (5.08- to 7.62-centimeter) inside diameters. They hold their one seasonal, single-brooded, yearly clutch of 4 to 5 brown to buff or cream-white, 1.22-inch- (31-millimeter-) long, 0.87-inch- (22-millimeter-) wide, semi-glossy, smooth eggs. Each egg, more toward its larger end, is blotched, speckled and spotted light to dark purple- and red-brown with smaller-numbered, smaller-sized gray-white blotches, speckles and spots.

Dark hair-lines or scrawls sometimes join other markings on eggs jubilating around-the-corner mating seasons for western sandpipers journeying as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March birds.

juvenile western sandpiper at Kinzarof Lagoon, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Bering Sea, northwestern coastal side of central Aleutians East Borough, southwestern Alaska; Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, 14:35; photo credit, Kristine Sowl, USFWS: Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Nest-building and egg-incubating respectively kindle western sandpiper fathers-to-be knowing which marshy lands and pools keep the nest-friendliest well-drained, wet grasses and sedges and both parents-to-be nest-sitting.

Western sandpiper mothers-to-be laying their next-to-last egg launches both parents-to-be leading 21-day egg incubations, from which their downy, precocial (precocious, from Latin praecox, “early-ripened”) hatchlings leave. Western sandpiper hatchlings manifest white bellies and throats; buff-white breasts; buff-cinnamon necks, head sides and foreheads; black-brown crown patches; and pale-striped eye-lines from bills to hind-crowns. They niche double-, pale-marked crowns; double-, dark-marked bill bases; dark-marked ear-coverts; black-, brown-, golden-brown-mottled backs, wings and thighs; and irregularly buff-white-tipped crowns, backs, wings and thighs.

Crustaceans, insect larvae and worms in fresh-, salt-, shallow-watered, muddy, open intertidal mudflats and lakeshores occupy western sandpipers as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March birds.

exhibit in Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Pacific Grove, Monterey County, Central Coast, California; Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 15:56: Daderot, Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Both parents pull brooding and guarding their hatchlings and nestlings, who pursue flying and independent nesting before they officially present themselves as 17- to 18-day-old fledglings.

Juvenile western sandpipers quarter red-edged upper-shoulder feathers even as breeding adults queue black bills; bright-, rusty-patched caps and cheeks; gray-streaked napes and necks; and black legs. Non-breeding adults reveal dark patches between dark bills and eyes; gray-streaked crowns, faces, napes; semi-streaked collars; white bellies; brown-gray upperparts; dusky-banded white tails; and black legs. They secure 5.5- to 6.5-inch- (14- to 16-centimeter-) long, 0.69- to 1.25-ounce (19- to 35-gram) bodies with 14- to 15-inch 35- to 38-centimeter), pointed-tip, white-striped wingspans.

Western sandpipers as migrating, non-migrating Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 March birds transmit loud chir-eep flight calls; chir-ir-ip and sirp flushed calls; and tweer-tweer-tweer trilled songs.

group flight of western sandpipers (Calidris mauri) over USFWS-managed Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex (OCNWRC); Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, 12:23; photo credit, Peter Pearsall/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: USFWS -- Pacific Region (USFWS Pacific), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Semipalmated and western sandpipers sometimes may be misidentified, but semipalmateds have smaller heads and rounder bodies; semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) under synonym of Tringa semipalmata; winter plumage (left), summer plumage (right); Drawn from Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S., F.L.S.; Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell, 1838; John James Audubon, The Birds of America, No. 81, Plate CCCCV: No copyright--United States (NoC--US), via ULS (University of Pittsburgh Library System) @ https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3Aaud0405; Birds of America, vol. V (1842), No. 68, Plate 336, opposite page 277, Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40419940; Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/61021753@N02/8589066821/

map of geographical distribution of western sandpiper; orange=breeding, yellow=migration, blue=non-breeding; adapted from BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World (2016) 2013 Calidris mauri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 @ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22693376/93401409: Simon Pierre Barrette (Cephas), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calidris_mauri_map.svg

juvenile western sandpiper at Kinzarof Lagoon, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Bering Sea, northwestern coastal side of central Aleutians East Borough, southwestern Alaska; Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, 14:35; photo credit, Kristine Sowl, USFWS: Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public Domainvia Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Juvenile_Western_Sandpiper_(11675055455).jpg; Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (AlaskaUSFWS), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfws_alaska/11675055455/

exhibit in Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Pacific Grove, Monterey County, Central Coast, California; Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 15:56: Daderot, Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calidris_mauri_-_Pacific_Grove_Museum_of_Natural_History_-_DSC06735.JPG

group flight of western sandpipers (Calidris mauri) over USFWS-managed Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex (OCNWRC); Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, 12:23; photo credit, Peter Pearsall/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: USFWS -- Pacific Region (USFWS Pacific), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USFWS_wesagroupflight_(23852884875).jpg; USFWS -- Pacific Region (USFWS Pacific), CC BY NC 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/23852884875/

For further information:

Baicich, Paul J.; and Colin J. O. Harrison. 2005. "Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)." Page 141. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ; and Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England: Princeton University Press.

BirdLife International. 2016. "Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri." IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22693376A93401409. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693376A93401409.en.
Available @ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22693376/93401409

Bull, John; and John Farrand, Jr. July 1977. "202 Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri." Page 485. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region. Revised by John Farrand, Jr. Second edition, fully revised, fifth printing, July 1977. Chanticleer Press Edition. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Cabanis, Dr. Jean. 1855. "182. Ereunetes Mauri." Journal für Ornithologie 4(24): 419-421. Cassel (France): Theodor Fischer.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13948113

Howell, Catherine Herbert (Writer); and Mary B. Dickinson (Editor). 1999. "Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri." Pages 174-175. Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Third Edition. Washington DC: National Geographic Society.

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 March 2023. "Baffin Island Wolves Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 Wild March." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/baffin-island-wolves-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2023. "Musk Ox, Muskox Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar February 2022 Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/musk-ox-muskox-are-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 February 2023. "Red-Throated Loons Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 February Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/red-throated-loons-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 January 2023. "Mallard Ducks Aced Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 as January Birds." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/mallard-ducks-aced-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2023. "Red Foxes Are January Wildlife on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/red-foxes-are-january-wildlife-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 December 2022. "Dark-Eyed Juncos Are December Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/dark-eyed-juncos-are-december-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 November 2022. "Eared Grebes Are November Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/eared-grebes-are-november-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 October 2022. "Barred Owls Are October Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/barred-owls-are-october-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 September 2022. "Brown Pelicans Are September Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/brown-pelicans-are-september-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 August 2022. "Allen’s Hummingbirds Are August Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/allens-hummingbirds-are-august-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 July 2022. "Reddish Egrets Are July Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/07/reddish-egrets-are-july-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 June 2022. "American Oystercatchers Are June Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/american-oystercatchers-are-june-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 May 2022. "Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks Are May Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/05/rose-breasted-grosbeaks-are-may-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 April 2022. "Crested Caracaras Appear as April Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/04/crested-caracaras-appear-as-april-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 March 2022. "Cerulean Warblers Are March Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/03/cerulean-warblers-are-march-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 February 2022. "Northern Bobwhites Are February Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/northern-bobwhites-are-february-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2022. "Florida Scrub-Jays Are January Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/florida-scrub-jays-are-january-birds-on.html

Mullins, Haley. 2018. "Calidris mauri western sandpiper." (On-line) Animal Diversity Web. Ann Arbor MI: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
Available @ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Calidris_mauri/

Peterson, Roger Tory. 2010. "Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri." Pages 136-137. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America. With Contributions from Michael DiGiorgio, Paul Lehman, Michael O'Brien and Jeffrey A. Gordon, Larry Rosche and Bill Thompson III. Sixth Edition. Boston MA; and New York NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Robbins, Chandler S.; Bertel Bruun; and Herbert S. Zim. 2001. "Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri." Pages 132-133. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Revised by Jonathan P. Latimer, Karen Stray Nolting and James Coe. Golden Field Guide. New York NY: St. Martin's Press.

Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1996. "Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri." Page 171. Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region. Boston MA; and New York NY: Little Brown and Company; and Toronto ON Canada: Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1977. 30 August 1977. "194. Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)." Page 759. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Reprinted eleven times. Thirteenth Printing, May, 1987. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; and Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada Limited.