Spotted Sandpiper
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I’ve seen Spotted Sandpipers several times on the docks and bulkheads along Barron River.
It’s hard to work with the ugliness of docks, and I finally felt lucky with this photogenic opportunity.
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Spotted Sandpiper
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The Spotted Sandpiper’s name insinuates it has spots, but where are they?
The above Spotted Sandpiper is in nonbreeding plumage, so it lacks its spots.
For comparison, below is a Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage I took last Spring.
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Spotted Sandpiper (breeding plumage)
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Photos by Donna 
You really are a good spotter, glad they finally were cooperating by standing in more picturesque settings!
Thank you, Carol, me too!
Love the capture
Thank you!
You could get two excellent photographs, Donna!
Thank you, Indira!! 😎
My wife would be taking pictures of the dock and that rusty old metal thing and rope. Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder!
That is very true!
Delightful photos!
Thank you!
Thanks for these pictures, both breeding and non-breeding. I believe we had a spotted sandpiper in our cove for a short time last year, as it was migrating through. Your pictures help confirm what I saw.
Have you seen them during the Spring/Summer as well? They also breed around the CBay.
It is a real treat to have the two morphs of the spotted sandpiper set right before us in these gorgeous photos, Donna. They occur on the west coast in their nonbreeding plumage, and we never see the spots. I was just sitting here wondering if I have ever seen the spots on a spotted sandpiper, and I don’t think I have. They are so beautiful with their spots. Many thanks.
I love those spots too! The Spotted Sandpiper breeds around the Chesapeake Bay, almost the furthest they go on the East coast, so I’ve been fortunate to see them and as well as migrants a good part of the year when home.
Beautiful pictures, Donna. You found the spots! The one time I went to Australia, they are called “Common” instead of “Spotted” there and I still have that stuck in my brain whenever I see one. I should try to find more shorebirds this year… thanks for inspiring the thought!
Thank you, Lisa! I’ve had similar issues with couple birds that I got hung on ‘previous’ names or slang names. It took quite a while for me to not say seagulls or buzzards.
Great spot for taking pictures of this beautiful bird. Enjoy your weekend Donna.
I love hanging any where alongside water. 🙂 Thanks, you too!
This a hard to photograph bird, he hides behind rocks all the time. Great two shots! 🙂
Thank you, HJ! 😃
Very nice Donna! Great 2nd image!!
Thank you, Reed!
Well spotted!
Thanks Tom!
Handsome little birds. Very nice, Donna!
Thank you, Belinda!
Photography is about patience. You have to be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity. Lovely pics!
It truly is! Something that birding has taught me well!! 😊
Beautiful images of both seasons, Donna. I’m looking forward to spring!
Thank you, Eliza!
Nice photo Donna. Interesting that many birds are named after their breeding plumage which can make identification difficult
Thank you, Ashley! It certainly gives me difficulties many times, lol.
The spots remind me of fawns, only the color is reversed.
Good eye, Vic!
👁👀😳😆
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spotted sandpiper before. Those spots are pretty striking! Beautiful pictures. 🙂
Thanks Barbara! Keep your eye out this spring/summer for them with their spots, they breed in the entire upper half of the U.S. and most of Canada. They will be around for you to find! 🙂
Thanks, will do!
I’ve never seen them with their spots! How exciting to see to them. Lovely images, Donna!
Thank you, Deborah! They are so easy to ID with their spots, but during migration, they blend in with the other small shorebirds, making them harder to ID at a distance. 😏