Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos at the edge of a Scottish loch. SCO 9756.
In summer is breeds along fast rivers and by lakes, lochs and reservoirs in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the north of England. In winter it may be seen along the south coast, and on spring and autumn passage it can be found elsewhere in the UK, near any freshwater areas and on some adult is 18–20 cm long with a 32–35 cm wingspan. It has greyish-brown upperparts, white underparts, short dark-yellowish legs and feet, and a bill with a pale base and dark tip. In winter plumage, they are duller and have more conspicuous barring on the wings, though this is still only visible at close range. Juveniles are more heavily barred above and have buff edges to the wing feathers. This species is very similar to the slightly larger Spotted Sandpiper (A. macularia) in non-breeding plumage. But its darker legs and feet and the crisper wing pattern (visible in flight) tend to give it away, and of course they are only rarely found in the same location It is a gregarious bird and is seen in large flocks, and has the distinctive stiff-winged flight, low over the water, of Actitis waders. The Common Sandpiper breeds across most of temperate and subtropical Europe and Asia, and migrates to Africa, southern Asia and Australia in winter. The eastern edge of its migration route passes by Palau in Micronesia, where hundreds of birds may gather for a stop-over. They depart the Palau region for their breeding quarters around the last week of April to the first week of May.
Size: 5781px × 4232px
Location: Lochindorb, Dava Moor, Morayshire. Grampian Region Scotland. UK.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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