Least Sandpiper

The small confusing sandpipers collectively known as “peeps” are only found in New Hampshire during spring and fall migration. Of these, the Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers are the most likely to be encountered. Separating these two species often requires looking at several features. Leg color is the most reliable, with Leasts having greenish-yellow legs compared to the Semipalmated’s black ones (beware of birds with muddy legs). Leasts are also browner, have a finer bill, and are clearly smaller than Semipalmateds in direct comparison. If birds are far or way or in a dense flock, it might not be possible to identify them to species.

Although similar in appearance, these two shorebirds differ in several aspects of their ecologies. Although both are found across the arctic, Leasts breed farther south than any other “peep” (Newfoundland, plus a highly unusual record of a chick on an island off Cape Cod!) and also winter much farther north (into the southern United States). They are more likely to occur inland in New Hampshire, where they can be found in flooded fields and shallow grassy wetlands. Although they occur with Semipalmated Sandpipers along the coast, they tend to be less common and more likely to occur in marshy areas instead of sandy and rocky beaches.

Perhaps because they are less concentrated than other shorebirds, it is difficult to obtain data on population size and trend for this species. The most recent trend information suggests that Least Sandpiper populations are either stable or showing a slower decline than seen in other species. Like other sandpipers they are subject to multiple threats across their long migratory journeys, but it’s possible that the Least Sandpiper’s broader habitat use and tendency to be more dispersed have reduced the impacts of those threats.