{"id":9028,"date":"2013-07-29T03:45:11","date_gmt":"2013-07-29T09:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=9028"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:25:13","slug":"spots-before-my-eyes-spotted-sandpipers-that-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/07\/29\/spots-before-my-eyes-spotted-sandpipers-that-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Spots Before My Eyes – Spotted Sandpipers That Is"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NonbreedingSpotted Sandpiper in nonbreeding plumage – Florida – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in May I published a post titled Spot the Sandpiper on the Seawall<\/a><\/span> and in that post I mentioned (or was it lamented) the fact that I hadn’t gotten images of them I felt I could be proud of in breeding plumage. Well I did this past week while I was in Beaverhead County, Montana!<\/p>\n

I photographed the Spotted Sandpiper above at Fort De Soto County Park<\/span><\/a>, Florida back in January of 2009 on some rip rap in a lagoon. They were very approachable there. I even had one fall asleep while I photographed it. But notice the clean white belly? That is because this bird was in nonbreeding plumage.<\/p>\n

I really wanted images of Spotted Sandpipers in breeding plumage though.<\/p>\n

\"SpottedSpotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage – Montana – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Now take a gander at this Spotted Sandpiper I photographed last week\u00a0along the West Fork Blacktail Deer Creek in southwestern Montana and you’ll see why I had spots before my eyes!<\/p>\n

And it is not just the belly of the bird, there are even a few spots on its darker feathers. It was amusing to watch and photograph this Spotted Sandpiper and watch it bob its butt up and down and listen to its call<\/a><\/span>\u00a0which I don’t recall hearing on their wintering grounds.<\/p>\n

Because of their butt bobbing ways these sandpipers are also called teeter-tail, teeter-peep, jerk bird and tip-tail. Me; I often call them little butt bobbers.<\/p>\n

The day before photographing this bird in the same area I heard an alarm call from a Spotted Sandpiper and then there was movement in the air as two Prairie Falcons were apparently both after the little shorebird.<\/p>\n

The falcons became aggressive towards each other and the sandpiper flew off. Having seen the Spotted Sandpiper there I went back the next day and that is when I photographed this one.<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131135,"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":[1513,27,25,704,12,2000,504],"tags":[2209,4004,4053,3843,4246,3980,4908,3521,992,2407,4912],"class_list":["post-9028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-montana","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-spotted-sandpipers","tag-actitis-macularia","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-creek","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-pinellas-county","tag-rip-rap","tag-sandpiper","tag-sandpipers","tag-spotted-sandpiper","tag-west-fork-blacktail-deer-creek"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-florida-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2lC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":87112,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/08\/my-first-of-season-spotted-sandpiper-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":9028,"position":0},"title":"My First Of Season Spotted Sandpiper Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I took my first of season Spotted Sandpiper photos yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains as I sat in my Jeep next to a creek.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling adult Spotted Sandpiper, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-adult-stump-calling-mia-mcpherson-4590.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-adult-stump-calling-mia-mcpherson-4590.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-adult-stump-calling-mia-mcpherson-4590.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-adult-stump-calling-mia-mcpherson-4590.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":9028,"position":1},"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":[]},{"id":2186,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/04\/10\/shorebirds-spotted-sandpipers\/","url_meta":{"origin":9028,"position":2},"title":"Shorebirds: Spotted Sandpipers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Spotted Sandpipers are fun to watch as they walk along the shoreline as they teeter, bob and bounce their rear ends up and down.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spotted Sandpiper perched on oysters in some rip rap at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-perched-oysters-mia-mcpherson-florida-4707.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-perched-oysters-mia-mcpherson-florida-4707.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-perched-oysters-mia-mcpherson-florida-4707.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-perched-oysters-mia-mcpherson-florida-4707.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":150461,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/07\/18\/spring-spotted-sandpiper-in-breeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":9028,"position":3},"title":"Spring Spotted Sandpiper In Breeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in May I was delighted to photograph this fluffed-up Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage while I was near the water at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1103.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1103.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8294,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/05\/spot-the-sandpiper-on-the-seawall\/","url_meta":{"origin":9028,"position":4},"title":"Spot The Sandpiper On The Seawall","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It really isn't too hard to spot this Spotted Sandpiper on the seawall, I just thought it was a catchy title. I saw my FOY (first of year) Spotted Sandpiper this past week and that got me excited.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spotted Sandpiper on a seawall at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8398.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8398.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8398.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-8398.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55570,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/07\/spotted-sandpiper-on-the-gulf-coast-thinking-back-on-warmer-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":9028,"position":5},"title":"Spotted Sandpiper On The Gulf Coast – Thinking Back On Warmer Days","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I'm thinking back on warmer days where I took photos of Spotted Sandpipers on the Gulf Coast as they scurried among those oyster beds looking for food and somehow I feel just a little bit warmer looking at this photo and the howling wind doesn't seem quite so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spotted Sandpiper on an exposed oyster bed, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-oysters-mia-mcpherson-4710.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-oysters-mia-mcpherson-4710.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-oysters-mia-mcpherson-4710.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spotted-sandpiper-oysters-mia-mcpherson-4710.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\/9028","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=9028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}