Semipalmated Sandpiper
Adobe Stock
L 6.5”, WS 14”, 0.88 oz. Breeding/spring plumage: Plain gray-brown, short straight dark bill, black legs Fall/nonbreeding plumage: pale gray, white belly.
Status in North Dakota
Migrates through North Dakota in mid-April through early June, and early July through mid-October.
Range Map
Semipalmated Sandpiper primary (dark gray/hatch) and secondary (medium gray/hatch) migration range.
Reason for SWAP Designation
At-risk based on expert review (SGCN c.).
The peak week for Semipalmated Sandpiper migration in ND (~31-May) hosts >10% (12.21) of the global population.
Substantial population-level declines in the eastern portion of the range, may be stable in the interior and western North America.
Threats
Loss and degradation of wetlands, drainage and wetland consolidation.
Loss of habitat on the breeding and wintering grounds.
Classified as climate-stable, Semipalmated Sandpiper is projected to maintain more than half of its current distribution (Audubon).
Hyperabundant geese populations alter tundra habitat and may limit the availability of nesting habitat for artic-breeding shorebirds.
Increasing applications of agrochemicals and adverse impacts to water quality, the wetland vegetative community, and the aquatic invertebrate community.
Semipalmated Sandpipers may be exposed to high concentrations of synthetic insecticides in non-buffered cropland ponds during the spring migration.
More frequent or intense harmful algal blooms.
Aquatic nuisance species spreading and damaging wetland ecosystems.
Research and Monitoring
Habitat and demographic studies have been conducted on breeding grounds.
Information lacking on migration strategies, stopover sites, and wintering behaviors.
Multiple large-scale shorebird monitoring programs are key sources of information on distribution and population trends.
However, minimal focus has been directed at research or monitoring migrant shorebirds in ND.
Management Recommendations
- Maintain wetland complexes.
- Conserve shallow, working wetlands in cropland.
- Plant vegetative buffer strips around wetlands in cropland.
- Identify and target high priority landscapes, habitats, and stopover sites for protection.
- Conscientious and appropriate application of agrochemicals.
Primary Geological Regions
Habitat Associations
Habitat Use
Semipalmated Sandpipers breed in the low-arctic and subarctic areas of Alaska, northern Canada, and the Hudson Bay, and winter in coastal areas of Mexico, the Caribbean and South America.
Central and western Arctic breeding birds primarily migrate through the interior of North America and use the Prairie Pothole Region extensively as stopover habitat.
The eastern Arctic breeding birds primarily migrate along the U.S.
Atlantic Coast, but some Semipalmated Sandpipers exhibit an elliptical migration, using both the Central Flyway and Atlantic Flyway.
During migration, Semipalmated Sandpipers use a variety of shallow freshwater and brackish wetlands, typically with little vegetation, mudflats, and shorelines.
Feed mostly on aquatic invertebrates such as amphipods and mollusks, but also terrestrial invertebrates such as insects and spiders.