A spotted Sandpiper - with spots! All winter they are missing the spots in their plumage. Now, the spots appear in the breeding plumage. Such a cool bird. They walk while constantly bobbing their tail. They have a breeding strategy called polyandry where the female establishes and defends a territory and mates with up to four males. The male incubates the eggs and cares for the young. Spotted Sandpipers breed across much of North America near rivers, streams and other waterbodies. They winter along the coasts of North America. I photographed this one recently at J.N. Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel, FL. It will migrate soon.
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