Fauna Flora Photography

Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius

Spotted Sandpiper is a small shorebird found along fresh water. It nests on the ground. Interestingly, a female mates with different males during a breeding season and she leaves egg incubation to them.

How to Identify

Although the different sandpipers’ species are difficult to identify, for the Spotted Sandpiper, I look if the whole breast and belly have grey or brownish spots [breeding season]. The beak is yellowish with a dark tip.

Where and When to Spot

I only saw a Spotted Sandpiper once, foraging along a small pond in between Technopark and Airport in Montreal. Unfortunately, these ponds have been dried out by the landlord.

Last updated on 2023-12-15. Written and regularly updated by Karl-Heinz Müller, Dipl. Natw. ETH, Biology. With 10 years of experience in wildlife photography, Karl-Heinz shares first-hand, on-site collected observations, photos and videos from his frequent visits to parks in the Montreal area.