adult

adult upperwing European distribution summer

Identification

The Wood Sandpiper in all plumages is slimmer, leggier and more elegant than most other sandpipers, more like a small Redshank. They also have beautifully spangled upperparts and an obvious pale supercilium. They are a paler brown than the Green Sandpiper and there is no obvious contrast between dark breast and pale belly. In flight Wood Sandpipers show a neat, square white rump but they look brown and white not black and white and their underwings are pale.

Habitat

Breeds in marshes and peatbogs. Occurs on passage beside freshwater lagoons, lakes and marshes.

Behaviour

Their song is given during a song-flight in which the male dives steeply up and down in a 'w' pattern across the sky.

Migration

European birds mainly winter south of the Sahara, returning to their breeding grounds between April-May.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Wood Sandpiper is classed as Local: generally fairly regular or common species that a 'county lister' or a birding beginner might be interested in going to see. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Rossie Bog, Fife 26/08/2010	Ennis, Clare 24/08/2010	Ennis, Clare 24/08/2010	Claire Mare NR, Guernsey 20/08/2010	Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincs 19/08/2010
Scatness, Shetland 18/08/2010	Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincs 19/08/2010	Stithians Resr, Cornwall 17/08/2010	Cley, Norfolk 09/08/2010	Lough Corrib, Galway 15/08/2010

 View all pictures of Wood Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Belarus
Britain
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Latvia
Lithuania
Norway
Poland
Russia
Sweden
Ukraine

http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob5540.htm   BTO BirdFacts: Wood Sandpiper	Edit this link
	Broken link
Recommend a new link

BirdGuides Ltd are not responsible for the content of external sites. If you find a broken link, please click the appropriate "Broken link" link above`.

	Green and Wood Sandpipers	Wednesday 8th August 2007
	Both species are a delight for visitors to wetland areas during passage periods, though they can sometimes cause identification difficulties for the unwary.

 BirdGuides webzine