Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) flock flying over the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick

© Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott/Minden Pictures

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) flock flying over the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick

The semipalmated sandpiper is a small shorebird that tends to breed in the Arctic region. They are long-distance migrants and can be found inhabiting beaches and shorelines come winter. Since they are surface feeders, they feast on insects such as flies and larvae during the summers and marine worms during the winters. As the picture depicts, these birds typically fly in flocks of hundreds of thousands.