Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

An annual spring migrant in small numbers, this species becomes much more common in the Pribilofs during the late summer and fall. Spring migrants are rarely noted before May 25th and become rare again after June 5th. There are just a handful of mid-late June records, though this species does routinely show up during early-mid July. Southbound migrants are regularly found after about July 25th, though typically in smaller numbers with a peak in their fall migration between August 25th and September 15th. Migrants are regularly noted well past their typical peak with small numbers still present into mid-October in some years. This species can outlast the birders present on island and so the end of their fall migration is not well known.

Photo by Sulli Gibson
Photo by Ryan P. O’Donnell
Photo by Stephan Lorenz