SHOREBIRDS

There are at least fifty types of shorebird species in North America, not including vagrants. Vagrants are birds that were blown off course during high winds or storms and others that just happen to drop in for a short visit. These birds vary in size, ranging from the small 6" Least Sandpiper to the 24" Long-billed Curlew, which is the largest species in the shorebird families.

California’s coastline measures 840 miles and ranks as the third-longest one in the US. In addition to enjoying the sunny beaches of California, there’s an excellent chance for birdwatchers to find tens of amazing seabirds.

These birds are highly adapted to nesting and living in coastal habitats, so keep on reading to learn more about these amazing creatures.

California’s waters, beaches, estuaries, and other habitats are vital to many of the seabirds and shorebirds that migrate along the Flyway each year, and Audubon’s conservation efforts not only improve those habitats in California, but complement similar efforts by other Audubon organizations in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, as well as partner organizations in Mexico and points further south.

The group of birds known as shorebirds is comprised of the sandpipers, plovers and related birds that forage along our beaches, mudflats and rocky shores. Some species, like Snowy Plovers, Black Oystercatchers, and Spotted Sandpipers, nest in our area, but most shorebirds are only winter visitors to the California coast, nesting elsewhere to the east and north. Many species of shorebirds travel north all the way to the tundra to lay their eggs and raise their young.

Every year millions of seabirds breed, feed, and/or migrate through off of our coastline, taking advantage of wind-driven upwelling which brings nutrients to the surface and creates rich food resources to top predators such as marine mammals, large fish and seabirds.