{"id":4794,"date":"2012-04-17T04:00:50","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T10:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4794"},"modified":"2025-08-17T19:08:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T00:08:22","slug":"short-billed-dowitcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/17\/short-billed-dowitcher\/","title":{"rendered":"Short-billed Dowitcher"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Short-billedShort-billed Dowitcher at the edge of a tidal lagoon – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/250, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Short-billed Dowitchers\u00a0spend their breeding season in remote northern bogs which means loads of biting bugs, but during other times of the year they can be found on coastal mudflats, saltmarshes or freshwater pools near the coastlines of North, Central and South America.<\/p>\n

This Short-billed Dowitcher was going into breeding plumage and was resting along the Gulf Coast of Florida on its way north.<\/p>\n

Short-billed Dowitchers feed on insects, crustaceans and aquatic mollusks. Quite often when I lived in Florida I would see them feeding on Coquinas, which are small bivalves, or tiny Fiddler Crabs.<\/p>\n

Dowitchers can live up to 20 years in the wild and are social birds that are often seen in large flocks.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Short-billed Dowitcher photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Short-billed Dowitchers feed on insects, crustaceans and aquatic mollusks. Quite often when I lived in Florida I would see them feeding on Coquinas which are small bivalves or tiny Fiddler Crabs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[27,25,704,2000,1422],"tags":[4004,4053,5132,6334,5086,173,3997,4355,2339,992,274,1423,165,4140],"class_list":["post-4794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-short-billed-dowitchers","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-coastal","tag-dowitcher","tag-dowitchers","tag-gulf-coast","tag-lagoon","tag-limnodromus-griseus","tag-mud-flats","tag-sandpipers","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-short-billed-dowitcher","tag-spring","tag-tidal-lagoon"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-mia-mcpherson-5516.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1fk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15273,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/06\/25\/six-years-ago-today-pelicans-godwits-and-dowitchers\/","url_meta":{"origin":4794,"position":0},"title":"Six Years Ago Today – Pelicans, Godwits And Dowitchers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Six years ago today I was sand crawling on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto's north beach photographing pelicans, godwits and dowitchers plus other birds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Short-billed Dowitcher feeding on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-feeding-mia-mcpherson-4539.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-feeding-mia-mcpherson-4539.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-feeding-mia-mcpherson-4539.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-feeding-mia-mcpherson-4539.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50757,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/01\/23\/short-billed-dowitcher-foraging-in-sargassum-on-the-wrack-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":4794,"position":1},"title":"Short-billed Dowitcher Foraging in Sargassum on the Wrack Line","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This Short-billed Dowitcher slowly made its way through the Sargassum on the wrack line as I laid in the damp sand photographing it and the other shorebirds that were searching the seaweed for food.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Short-billed Dowitcher in Sargassum, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2339.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2339.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2339.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2339.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2330.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2330.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2330.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/short-billed-dowitcher-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2330.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9126,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/08\/07\/missing-fort-de-soto\/","url_meta":{"origin":4794,"position":3},"title":"Missing Fort De Soto","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Some days I find myself missing Fort De Soto so much it hurts, the birds I found there and the entire experience of just being there. It is just such an amazing place, how could I not miss it?","rel":"","context":"In "American Oystercatchers"","block_context":{"text":"American Oystercatchers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-oystercatchers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwit and Dowitcher friends, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/marbled-godwit-dowitchers-mia-mcpherson-3147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/marbled-godwit-dowitchers-mia-mcpherson-3147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/marbled-godwit-dowitchers-mia-mcpherson-3147.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/marbled-godwit-dowitchers-mia-mcpherson-3147.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7264,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/26\/bird-images-from-warmer-days-and-all-at-300mm-or-less\/","url_meta":{"origin":4794,"position":4},"title":"Bird Images From Warmer Days And All At 300mm Or Less","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Gray skies, freezing temps and the inversions are beginning to get to me so I thought I would share some bird images from warmer days on Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in sunny Florida.","rel":"","context":"In "Atlantic Ghost Crabs"","block_context":{"text":"Atlantic Ghost Crabs","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/ghost-crabs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-crowned Night Heron adult devouring a Ghost Crab, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, 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Migration","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route is still closed and many of the birders, bird photographers and nature lovers are itching to know what birds are there because after all spring migration is an exciting time at the refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flock of Long-billed Dowitchers in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, 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