Figure 132. Although a third of California’s records of the White-rumped Sandpiper are from fall, none has involved a juvenile. A case in point is this worn adult molting into basic plumage, photographed on 15 September 1985 at Salinas, Monterey County (1985-136; Peter LaTourrette).

 

Figure 133. White-rumped Sandpipers reach California primarily in late May and early June. The smaller number of fall occurrences, with a peak in early September, all involve adult birds.

 

Figure 134 (right). Distribution of 19 White-rumped Sandpipers accepted through 2003. As for most vagrants that reach California primarily in spring, many records are from the interior, including four from the Salton Sea. Half of the fall records also come from inland sites. The species is yet to be found in the state’s northern third.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER Calidris fuscicollis (Vieillot, 1819)

Accepted: 19 (58%)	Treated in Appendix H: yes
Not accepted: 14	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 3	Color image: H-18

This sandpiper breeds from northeastern Alaska across the nearctic to Baffin Island. It is among the most ambitious migrants, with most southbound birds flying nonstop over the western Atlantic Ocean from the Atlantic Provinces and the Northeast to northern South America (some stopping in the West Indies, Raffaele et al. 1998). From there, most continue to wintering grounds located even farther south (Harrington et al. 1991). Small numbers reach Europe each fall (Cramp 1983). Most northbound birds take a central route, staging in the Great Plains, although some follow the Atlantic coast north to at least New England. The species strays casually across the West, primarily in spring. Vagrants have also reached the Azores, southern Africa, South Georgia, near the Antarctic Peninsula (Parmelee 1992), Australia, New Zealand (Higgins and Davies 1996), and the Galapagos Islands. A midwinter record from Arkansas on 3 January 2004 (Arkansas Audubon Society 2004) is unprecedented for the United States.

California’s first White-rumped Sandpiper was collected on 7 June 1969 at the mouth of the Whitewater River, Riverside County. About two-thirds of the state’s records (13 of 19) involve alternate-plumaged birds during the period of 17 May–16 June (Figure 133). The six autumn records pertain to birds in worn alternate or basic plumage. Five have occurred between 15 August and 18 September, and a later record comes from near Stratford in Kings County, 12–14 October 2001. See also Appendix H. The unusual prevalence of spring records probably reflects the eastward route taken by fall migrants and the species’ propensity to migrate long distances over water with few stopovers. Young White-rumped Sandpipers first reach New England only in mid September, several weeks later than juveniles of most congeners. Thus, misdirected first-fall birds would not be expected in the West until October (none has yet been found).