Calidris bairdii
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
Baird's sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) is a small shorebird. It is among those Calidris species which were formerly sometimes included in the genus Erolia, which was subsumed into the genus Calidris in 1973. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The English name and specific bairdii commemorate Spencer Fullerton Baird, 19th-century naturalist and assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Adults have black legs and a short, straight, thin dark bill. They are dark brown on top and mainly white underneath with a black patch on the rump. The head and breast are light brown with dark streaks. In winter plumage, this species is paler brownish grey above. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints".
One of the best identification features is the long wings, which extend beyond the tail when the bird is on the ground. Only the white-rumped sandpiper also shows this, and that bird can be distinguished by its namesake white rump patch.
Baird's sandpiper breeds in the northern tundra... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 6 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Baird's Sandpiper sighting in Lauca National Park on a given day, based on 355 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 112 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January to March
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Baird's Sandpiper in Lauca National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June and July, the lowest months. Those are among Lauca National Park's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain a month against almost none in May.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Baird's Sandpiper 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 26 parks where we can rate Baird's Sandpiper sightings, Lauca National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Península Valdés (Argentina, about 20%) and Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Baird's Sandpiper is recorded against all the birds logged in Lauca National Park (355 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.
