Subject: Re: High Altitude Shorebirds
Date: Aug 31 16:27:13 1994
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at ups.edu


>I found it interesting that Dennis Paulson mentioned that one of the shorebirds
>that is most likely to be found in the Washington highlands is the Baird's
>Sandpiper. In my travels in South America I found Baird's to be THE highland
>shorebird, with flocks present at Andean lakes well over 4500m up. A good
>proportion of the Baird's Sandpipers actually winter in the Andes, with the
>majority wintering in Patagonia. It makes me wonder exactly what makes Baird's
>like the highlands? Any guesses or answers? I find it rather puzzling.
>
>BTW- other North American shorebirds that I have seen up high in the Andes
>include Wilson's Phalarope, and Lesser Yellowlegs.
>
>Al Jaramillo
>jaramill at sfu.ca
>Vancouver, B.C.

I've often wondered what is it about Baird's that fits it for high
altitude--with no real ideas. I suppose we see them in the mountains here
because they are programmed to seek high-elevation lakes on their wintering
range, but in fact the majority of juveniles probably turn up in the
lowlands all across the country, and adults move very rapidly down the
rockies and western plains in fall. The fact that they commonly feed in the
drier area above the tide line means they can do well in situations lacking
mudflats--and mountain lakes certainly match that. Spotted sandpipers also
forage successfully above high tide, and solitaries forage in the water, so
all of these species are released from the need for mudflats. Note the
lesser yellowlegs and Wilson's phalaropes that Al mentioned also feed in
water.

Dennis Paulson