The most surprising and wonderful bird I saw and photographed on Thursday with my friend, April Olson, was a migrating Least Sandpiper in the Kamas Valley.
February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.
Shorebirds begin their fall migration early and for those of us who live in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem that means looking for them in the marshes around the lake and on the lake itself.
I photographed this migrating Least Sandpiper in the same pond as the Wilson's Phalarope chick at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge but on different days.
The only time I see Least Sandpipers here in Utah is when they are migrating through the Great Basin hub of the Pacific Flyway.
I came across this diminutive Least Sandpiper while photographing Greater Yellowlegs at a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto's north beach in the fall of 2008.
Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) are the world's smallest shorebird, weighing in at a mere 0.7 ounces (20 g), a length of 6 inches and a wingspan of 13 inches.