Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

The least sandpiper is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific minutilla is Medieval Latin for "very small". Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 16,450 times across 64 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

See the Least Sandpiper on the live map

Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 24°C (typically 19 to 30°C, from 28 areas). That range is wide, so temperature alone does not explain when it turns up.

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in North America ranged from 17°N in September to 40°N in July, about 2,600 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

Download every area as CSV

Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.