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Pectoral Sandpiper Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Pectoral Sandpipers are one of the more common shorebirds that migrates through the state, and thankfully, one that's easy to identify compared to some of the other sandpipers! They are bigger in size than the "peeps", have yellow legs, but are clearly stockier and different than the Yellowleg species. The bill has a unique yellow base (different in shape too than some other shorebirds that might be confused with it), and they have that distinctive chest markings make it easy to identify.

Thankfully they're also usually not all that shy! Which means I do have quite a few photos of the species. My favorite photo is an in-your-face kind of a shot, taken from a blind at Weisensee Slough in western Minnehaha County of South Dakota, in April of 2017.

Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 1 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 2 - Calidris melanotos

Pectoral Sandpiper 3 - Calidris melanotos

Pectoral Sandpiper 4 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 1 

Pectoral Sandpiper 2

Pectoral Sandpiper 3

Pectoral Sandpiper 4

May 4th, 2014 

August 30th, 2009 

August 1st, 2004

May 4th, 2014 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Lake Thompson, South Dakota 

Lake Thompson, South Dakota 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Profile of bird wading in waist deep water on a sunny morning 

Sandpiper foraging in very shallow water 

Pectoral Sandpiper in wetland habitat 

Sandpiper with wet head feathers from foraging in shallow water 

Pectoral Sandpiper 5 - Calidris melanotos

Pectoral Sandpiper 6 - Calidris melanotos

Pectoral Sandpiper 7 - Calidris melanotos

Pectoral Sandpiper 8 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 5

Pectoral Sandpiper 6

Pectoral Sandpiper 7

Pectoral Sandpiper 8

May 9th, 2011 

May 9th, 2011 

August 13th, 2011

May 6th, 2017 

Near  Worthing, South Dakota 

Near  Worthing, South Dakota 

Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Lincoln County, South Dakota 

Side view of a bird standing in shallow water 

Pectoral Sandpiper with muddy bill from foraging 

Sandpiper on gravelly shoreline with duckweed on bill and feet 

Pectoral Sandpiper standing on the shoreline in the sun 

Pectoral Sandpiper 9 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 10 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 11 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 12 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 9

Pectoral Sandpiper 10

Pectoral Sandpiper 11 

Pectoral Sandpiper 12 

April 23rd, 2020 

April 23rd, 2020 

April 23rd, 2020 

April 19th, 2020 

Lake County, South Dakota

Lake County, South Dakota 

Lake County, South Dakota 

Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Pair of sandpipers in wetland habitat 

Single sandpiper in wetland habitat 

Pectoral Sandpiper wading in shallow water habitat 

Profile of a bird standing in the sun in wetland 

Pectoral Sandpiper 13 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 14 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 15 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 16 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 13

Pectoral Sandpiper 14

Pectoral Sandpiper 15

Pectoral Sandpiper 16

May 22nd, 2014 

April 23rd, 2020 

April 23rd, 2020 

April 23rd, 2020 

Near Eagle River, Alaska 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Over-the-shoulder look on rocky shoreline 

Closeup view of sandpiper facing the camera 

Wading bird in shallow water habitat 

Wading bird in shallow water habitat  

Pectoral Sandpiper 17 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 18 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 19 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 20 - Calidris melanotos 

Pectoral Sandpiper 17

Pectoral Sandpiper 18 

Pectoral Sandpiper 19

Pectoral Sandpiper 20

April 23rd, 2020 

August 9th, 2020 

August 9th, 2020

August 9th, 2020 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota 

Sandpiper facing the camera 

Foraging bird probing in the wetland muck 

Sandpiper with reflection, foraging in shallow water 

Side view of bird in warm morning sunlight 

Click here for the species description page for the Pectoral Sandpiper

All photos copyrighted!  Click for information on commerical usage, or usage for other personal purposes.

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Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl