The Western Sandpiper 
our mud flats and sandy shores are visited in fall and spring by myriads of 
these confiding voyageurs. While they are most abundant in late April or 
early May, and again in August and September, we yet have a little 
sprinkling of them 
throughout the year, so 
that ignorance of them 
is without excuse. 
A mud flat, left bare 
by the receding tide, is 
the most favorable for. 
study; and here our little 
friends gather in com¬ 
panies which sometimes 
number up into the thou¬ 
sands. The company is 
oftenest “mixed” with 
Least Sandpipers ( Piso- 
bia minutilla). Some¬ 
times it is “fine-mixed,” 
with Sanderlings or Red- 
backed Sandpipers or 
(especially along shore) 
with Semipalmated 
1 AN INNOCENT TROPHY 
Taken in Santa Barbara 
Photo by the Author 
