{"id":23728,"date":"2015-05-13T05:26:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T11:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=23728"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:54:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T13:54:14","slug":"western-sandpiper-foraging-on-the-north-beach-of-fort-de-soto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/13\/western-sandpiper-foraging-on-the-north-beach-of-fort-de-soto\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Sandpiper Foraging on the North Beach of Fort De Soto"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is just a simple post of a foraging Western Sandpiper that I found while working on moving my images from their old galleries to the new ones yesterday. I don’t have all that many images of Western Sandpipers because I only saw them in Florida when they would winter at Fort De Soto’s north beach.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Sandpiper foraging on the north beach of Fort De Soto – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though they are one of the most abundant shorebird species in North America they have a very tiny breeding range in western Alaska. Like many other shorebird species rising seas may<\/del> will have a negative impact on their breeding and feeding grounds.<\/p>\n

I loved the reflective quality of the thin film of water on the sand when I created this image in August of 2008 along with the great eye contact with the sandpiper.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see my Western Sandpiper photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is just a simple post of a foraging Western Sandpiper that I found while working on moving my images from their old galleries to the new ones yesterday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,25,704,1543],"tags":[9555,4039,4392,5132,4136,173,4077,3980,4017,992,274,2315,3996,4391],"class_list":["post-23728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-western-sandpipers","tag-abundant","tag-beach","tag-calidris-mauri","tag-coastal","tag-foraging","tag-gulf-coast","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-pinellas-county","tag-sand","tag-sandpipers","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-summer-3","tag-water","tag-western-sandpiper"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-sandpiper-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2069.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-6aI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23178,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/29\/a-semipalmated-sandpiper-foraging-in-a-tidal-lagoon\/","url_meta":{"origin":23728,"position":0},"title":"Semipalmated Sandpiper Foraging In A Tidal Lagoon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing a simple Semipalmated Sandpiper image today that I photographed at Fort De Soto's north beach back in May of 2009.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Semipalmated Sandpiper foraging in a tidal lagoon, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/semipalmated-sandpiper-florida-mia-mcpherson-7153.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/semipalmated-sandpiper-florida-mia-mcpherson-7153.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/semipalmated-sandpiper-florida-mia-mcpherson-7153.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/semipalmated-sandpiper-florida-mia-mcpherson-7153.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15671,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/08\/19\/least-sandpiper-at-the-lagoons-edge\/","url_meta":{"origin":23728,"position":1},"title":"Least Sandpiper At The Lagoon’s Edge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I came across this diminutive Least Sandpiper while photographing Greater Yellowlegs at a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto's north beach in the fall of 2008.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Least Sandpiper at the lagoon's edge, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6406.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6406.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6406.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6406.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5053,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/05\/23\/western-sandpiper-on-the-go\/","url_meta":{"origin":23728,"position":2},"title":"Western Sandpiper on the Go","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It dawned on me this morning that I haven not posted an image of a Western Sandpiper here yet so I pulled this one out of my archives that I photographed at Fort De Soto as the small shorebird ran in front of me on the shoreline.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Sandpiper on the go, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-sandpiper-mia-mcpherson-9446.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-sandpiper-mia-mcpherson-9446.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-sandpiper-mia-mcpherson-9446.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-sandpiper-mia-mcpherson-9446.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9028,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/07\/29\/spots-before-my-eyes-spotted-sandpipers-that-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":23728,"position":3},"title":"Spots Before My Eyes – Spotted Sandpipers That Is","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"So I finally have images of the breeding plumage of this small shorebird that show the spots that gave this bird the name Spotted Sandpiper!","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nonbreeding Spotted Sandpiper in Florida. Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-florida-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-florida-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-florida-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-florida-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5850,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/08\/04\/least-sandpiper-the-worlds-smallest-shorebird\/","url_meta":{"origin":23728,"position":4},"title":"Least Sandpiper – The World’s Smallest Shorebird","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) are the world's smallest shorebird, weighing in at a mere 0.7 ounces (20 g), a length of 6 inches and a wingspan of 13 inches.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Least Sandpiper - small in frame, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/least-sandpiper-sand-mia-mcpherson-3183.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/least-sandpiper-sand-mia-mcpherson-3183.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/least-sandpiper-sand-mia-mcpherson-3183.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/least-sandpiper-sand-mia-mcpherson-3183.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35305,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/07\/an-alert-spotted-sandpiper-in-nonbreeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":23728,"position":5},"title":"An Alert Spotted Sandpiper in Nonbreeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This alert Spotted Sandpiper was photographed at Fort De Soto County Park in January of 2009 as it walked down some rip rap towards the water.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An alert Spotted Sandpiper on rip rap at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8403.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8403.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8403.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8403.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}