Female Spotted Sandpiper post-coital posture – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Yesterday I saw as many as four Spotted Sandpipers chasing each other around in a mating frenzy near a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains. What intrigued me the most was the post-coital posture of the female Spotted Sandpiper where she kept one wing raised for a long period of time.
After the male Spotted Sandpiper dismounted the female she raised both her wings then lowered her right wing and walked towards the shore of the creek with her left wing raised. I’ve never seen or photographed mating Spotted Sandpipers prior to yesterday so this behavior was new to me.
After the female lowered her wing she walked into the water. The image time stamp for when the female raised her wings was 08:31:48.023 and 08:32:03.046 when she entered the water and lowered her left wing.
I thought that was the end of the mating behaviors and displays. Was I ever wrong. That is when the action really started.
There were prolonged ground and aerial chases where the sandpipers were constantly calling. Because Spotted Sandpiper males and females are similar in plumage I could not tell who was chasing whom or whether there was more than one female in the area. It was fascinating to watch their behavior and challenging to try to photograph. Spotted Sandpiper females can store sperm for up to 31 days so perhaps she wasn’t receptive to any other males after she had mated. I really can’t say for sure.
I do know that I will be looking for Spotted Sandpiper chicks in the area in about 19 to 22 days.
When I left the area the sandpipers were still chasing each other around.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Spotted Sandpiper photos plus facts and information about this species.
Exciting behavior to watch!
I hope that you can see the chicks. Soon. Storing sperm could make the gestation period hard to judge though.