Not-so-solitary Solitary Sandpipers

Last spring I saw a number of shorebirds, most of them migrating through New Jersey to get to more northerly breeding grounds [1]. On this particular day I saw a couple of Solitary Sandpipers in the same general vicinity at the same time.

Although they get the "solitary" part of their name because they're frequently found alone, during migration there are probably only a limited number of good way stations available along their route. It's not shocking to see them and/or their larger Lesser Yellowlegs and Greater Yellowlegs cousins working the same area of a river even if they're not purposely flocking together. Solitary Sandpipers may prefer their alone time, but they're not psychopathic about it; these 2 were working different parts of Dukes Brook without any hostility that I could see.

May 3, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 278556645, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

May 3, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 278556715, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


[1] I also saw some Killdeer, shorebirds that will breed in this area.

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