Pectoral Sandpiper
| Irish Name: | Gobadán uchtach |
| Scientific name: | Calidris melanotos |
| Bird Family: | Waders |
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Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Scarce passage migrant on western and southern coasts from July to November.
Identification
Very similar to Dunlin and care is needed when identifying this species. In all plumages appears very similar to juvenile Dunlin, though Pectoral Sandpiper slightly larger than that species. Best identified by the abruptly ending breast band, which runs into a point. Juvenile Pectoral Sandpipers are almost indistinguishable from adults.
Voice
A dry “kreet” is given in flight.
Diet
Like the commoner Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpipers probe the mud for the various invertebrates found in wetlands and estuaries.
Breeding
Does not breed in Ireland. Pectoral Sandpiper breeds in eastern Siberia and Arctic North America.
Wintering
Pectoral Sandpipers winter in South America. Birds seen in Ireland in late-summer and early autumn are migrants.
Monitored by
North American vagrant which turns up occasionally between July and October.
In recent years Tacumshin in south County Wexford has been a reliable site for this species, with up to 5 reported annually. Has been recorded in suitable habitat throughout Ireland.
