shorebirdsinflorida

Wilson’s Snipe

Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a medium-sized pudgy shorebird with short, stocky legs. The bill is very straight and very long. The head is round, and the tail is short. They measure 10.6-12.6 inches with a wingspan of 16.1-17.3 inches, weighing 2.8-5.2 oz. Wilson’s Snipe are intricately patterned in buff and brown stripes and bars. The dark head has prominent buffy to whiteish stripes. There are three long buffy streaks along their dark backs. The chest is streaked and spotted with brown; the sides are heavily barred with black. In flight, the wings are dark above and below. Wilson’s Snipe has an extremely large range from Canada to the United States through Central America to Venezuela. Florida makes up their nonbreeding range.
This shorebird can be found in all types of marshy settings. They avoid areas with tall, dense vegetation, but they do need small areas that have cover to hide in and to provide a safe lookout for predators. Wilson’s Snipe diet mainly consists of insect larvae, including flies such as crane, horse, and deer flies as well as beetles, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers, ants, mayflies, butterflies, caddis flies, and moths. Other invertebrates include snails, crustaceans, and worms. Small vertebrates which include lizards, frogs, fish, and nestlings are occasionally eaten with plant materials making up a tiny part of their diet. Their flexible bills are used to probe for food in the wet soil, food is grasped by the tip of the bill while the base remains closed, and they can slurp up the food without removing their bill from the wet soil. The Wilson’s Snipe eyes are set far back on its head that they can almost as well behind as in front and to the sides. This makes it difficult for potential predators to sneak up on them. The term “has eyes in the back of its head” can be used for Wilson’s Snipe!
According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, this species’ population is widespread and stable making them a low conservation concern. However, the draining or conversion of wetland habitat is detrimental to this species. There are still threats such as collisions with lighthouses, radio, TV, cell towers, buildings, and cars.
Photo Credit: Lynn Marie
Author: Destiny Alvarez – Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Oregon
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Willet

Willets (Tringa semipalmata) are large, stocky shore birds with long legs and thick, straight bills considerably longer than their head. Their wings are broader and rounder than many other shorebirds, and the tail is short and squared off at the base. Willets measure 13.0-16.1 inches with a wingspan of 27.6 inches and weigh about 7.0-11.6 oz. Willets are gray or brown in color. During flight, they display a striking white and black stripe along each wing. Their colors in summer are mottled gray, brown, and black; in winter, they are much plainer gray. They are nocturnal migrants, only living in the coastal Florida areas during the winter nonbreeding season.
The Willet’s widespread wintering range makes them one of the easiest shorebirds to spot. They inhabit open beaches, bay shores, marshes, mudflats, and rocky coastal zones. In winter, Willets eat small crabs, worms, clams, and other invertebrates from saltwater marshes and along open coastlines. Willets can feed during the night and day, grabbing their prey from the surface using their sensitive bill tip.
Although Willets are common in some areas, they declined between 1966 and 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The 2014 State of the Birds Watch List has listed this species as a risk of becoming threatened or endangered without conservation action. Both adults and fledglings are also vulnerable to collisions with power lines built through wetland breeding sites. During the 19th century, Willets were widely hunted for food. It took the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918 to begin the Willet’s comeback to its present numbers.
Photo Credit: Lynn Marie, Dan Kon
Author: Destiny Alvarez – Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Oregon
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Greater Yellow Legs

Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, are large sandpipers that are bigger than robins and smaller than crows. They are easy to identify because of their color pattern of white with black and brown spots. Greater Yellowlegs have long necks, long yellow legs, and thick-based but long black bills. Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs look similar, but the Greater Yellowlegs are larger and less delicate birds.
This species is commonly seen in Florida wetlands during winter. However, greater yellowlegs also spend time in the Mexico-US border and Central and South America during the non-breeding season. When it is time for breeding, Greater Yellowlegs stay along the Canada-US border. During migration season, the birds inhabit most of the United States, southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.
The diet of Greater Yellowlegs consists mostly of insects and small fish, but they also feed on small forms of marine life such as snails, tadpoles, and marine worms.
During the winter Floridians will have the opportunity to observe this incredible species.
Author: Steven Marquez – Student, Valencia College
Work Cited: “Greater Yellowlegs.” Audubon, Accessed on 12 November 2021
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