Shorebirds

Shorebirds, small-to medium-sized birds that frequently feed along shorelines, include snipes, godwits, stints, sandpipers, phalaropes, jacanas, thick-knees, oyster-catchers, avocets, plovers, and lapwings. Most shorebirds breed solitarily, although a few nest in small colonies. They rely on their cryptic coloration and hiding their nests to avoid mammalian predation on their nests and eggs. They nest on the ground, in the open sand, under vegetation, on rocky beaches, or in wet swales from the Arctic to Antarctica. During migration and while overwintering, shorebirds form flocks of hundreds to thousands and forage in large groups to exploit coastal prey. Some migrate long distances from Arctic breeding grounds to the tip of South America. Threats to shorebirds include human disturbance while nesting or foraging on coastal beaches and mudflats; predators, harvesting, habitat loss due to coastal and Arctic development, and sea-level rise.