The Upland Sandpiper is a shorebird that shuns the shore, a bird of dry grasslands and prairies with a distinctive, almost comical silhouette — a small, dovelike head with big dark eyes set on a long neck, a plump body, and a long tail, so that it looks a bit like a shorebird designed by committee. It famously perches on fence posts with wings briefly raised over its back before folding them, and it delivers an eerie, wolf-whistle-like call and a rippling, bubbling flight song that carries over the grassland in the long light of a summer evening.
Once abundant across the tallgrass prairies and hayfields, the Upland Sandpiper declined severely with the loss of grassland habitat and remains a species of conservation concern in much of the East. In Michigan it breeds locally in extensive grasslands, pastures, hayfields, and airports, walking through the grass to hunt insects, especially grasshoppers. A long-distance migrant, it winters on the grasslands of southern South America. Its haunting whistle drifting over a summer field is one of the classic sounds of surviving prairie.
Feeds mainly on insects — especially grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and weevils — gleaned by walking through grassland, and takes some seeds as well. It forages in open grassy country rather than at the water's edge, an unusual habit for a shorebird, and grasshoppers are a staple of its summer diet.
The Upland Sandpiper is a shorebird that adapted to dry grasslands and prairies rather than shorelines. It walks through grassy fields hunting insects, and it perches on fence posts, quite unlike its water-loving relatives.
That drawn-out, wolf-whistle-like call and the rippling, bubbling flight song are the Upland Sandpiper's. They carry far over grassland, especially in the evening, and are a classic sound of prairie and hayfield country.
Loss of the extensive grasslands, prairies, and hayfields it depends on has driven severe declines, making it a species of conservation concern. It now breeds only locally in large grassland areas, pastures, and airports.
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