My road trip to Siesta Key Beach on Florida’s West Coast yielded a rare Baird’s Sandpiper. This bird is way off course, and an uncommon visitor here.
Here are some facts about it.
Named for Fullerton Baird, the second secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Baird’s Sandpiper breeds over a broad expanse of high-arctic North America and in parts of Russia, wintering from the Andes of Ecuador to the lowlands of Tierra del Fuego. Its migration is long but rapid. After departing high-arctic breeding grounds, and staging in southern Canada and the northern United States, most individuals travel 6,000 kilometers or more directly to northern South America, some going on as far as Tierra del Fuego and many completing the entire 15,000-kilometer journey in as few as 5 weeks. ~Paul Waller
Thank you, Paul, for sharing this rare sighting of a beautiful Baird’s Sandpiper with all of us at Imagine Our Florida.
