Calidris virgata
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The surfbird (Calidris virgata) is a small stocky wader in the family Scolopacidae. It was once considered to be allied to the turnstones, and placed in the monotypic genus Aphriza, but is now placed in the genus Calidris.
This bird has a short dark bill, yellow legs and a black band at the end of the white rump. In breeding plumage, it has dark streaks on the brownish head and breast with dark spots on its white underparts; the upperparts are dark with flax or sometimes rust colouring on the wings. Birds in winter plumage and immature birds are mainly grey on the upperparts and breast and white on the underparts with streaking.
Their breeding habitat is rocky tundra areas in Alaska and the Yukon. The female lays 4 eggs in a depression on the ground lined with vegetation. Both parents look after the young birds, who feed themselves. These birds migrate to the Pacific coasts of North and South America, from southern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.
On the nesting grounds, these birds mainly eat insects and some seeds. At other times of year, they eat mollusks and crustaceans found along the surf line on rocky coasts and are usually found in small flocks, often with turnstones.
The song is a whistled tee tee tee. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 11 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 12 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 7 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Surfbird sighting in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, based on 710 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 81st most-seen of the 276 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August, October and December–February
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Surfbird in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to July, the lowest months. Those are among Channel Islands National Park's wettest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Surfbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Surfbird sightings, Channel Islands National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 10%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, under 5%).
Same genus: Calidris
The closest relatives of the Surfbird that you can see in Channel Islands National Park (genus Calidris, Calidris Sandpipers) are Sanderling (about 20%), Western Sandpiper (about 10%) and Least Sandpiper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Surfbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Channel Islands National Park (710 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
