Backyard and Beyond

A very vocal shore bird this time of year makes you think there’s a nest nearby.Spotted Sandpipers are the shore birds you’ll see inland. In Brooklyn, that means the edges of Prospect Lake and Sylvan Water in Green-Wood host them during migration. Teeterbird is one of their common names, for their habit of bobbing their tails up and down. This is the most widespread breeding sandpiper in North America. Among their range of habitats, they can be found up to 14,000 feet. All this suggest their binomial, Actitis macularius, which I’ve translated for the title of this post, is limiting. In this case, this bird was definitely on the shore. We wondered if there might be young around, but didn’t see anything and thought it best just to keep moving. Those hind nails!The females take the lead in establishing territories, males take the lead in parental care.