From Baird’s Sandpipers to a Sky Full of Hawks: The Magic of Migration

There’s something special about birding during seasonal shifts—watching the sky, waiting for the first arrivals, and knowing that the birds in front of you have traveled thousands of miles to be there. It’s that sense of movement, of connection between places, that keeps me excited about nature.

The Fascinating Journey of Baird’s Sandpipers

By mid-April, shorebirds start moving through Colorado. American Avocets, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and Wilson’s Phalaropes trickle in, stopping just long enough to refuel before pressing on.

But one of the most fascinating travelers in this group is the Baird’s Sandpiper—a small, unassuming sandpiper making one of the longest overland migrations of any bird.

This bird is built for endurance, traveling over 9,000 miles from South America to the Arctic tundra in just five weeks. Unlike most shorebirds that follow coastal routes, Baird’s Sandpipers take the inland flyways, making places like Colorado’s shortgrass prairies and temporary wetlands critical stopover sites.

They don’t just stick to water either—you’ll often find them foraging in dry, grassy fields, sometimes far from any shoreline. Their elongated wings and streamlined bodies are built for efficiency, helping them cover over 250 miles per day as they push northward. By the time they reach the Arctic, they’ve traveled an incredible distance—one of the most extreme migrations in the bird world.

The Hidden Highways of Migration

Baird’s Sandpipers aren’t alone on this inland route. Upland Sandpipers, Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and American Golden-Plovers also follow this mid-continental flyway, relying on temporary wetlands and prairie stopover sites that many people don’t even realize exist.

These overlooked habitats serve as critical refueling stations—reminders that even small, seemingly unremarkable landscapes can play a massive role in global migration.

That’s part of what makes birding so rewarding. It’s not just about spotting a rare bird; it’s about seeing the way birds and landscapes are interconnected.

A Baird’s Sandpiper foraging on a mudflat in Colorado might have been in Argentina just a few weeks ago. By next month, it’ll be nesting under the midnight sun of the Arctic. The movement of birds ties together places we might never think of as related, reminding us just how vast yet connected our world really is.

Stay Connected to the Birds

Birding is about more than just identifying species—it’s about experiencing the rhythms of the natural world, tracking migrations, and understanding the landscapes birds rely on.

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