The Story
I photographed this Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) from the Ferry Marcopolo on the Orteguaza River at Puerto Arango, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It breeds near fresh water across most of Canada and the United States. It eats insects, crustaceans, spiders, snails, worms, small fish and carrion, and sometimes catches insects in flight. Females may lay clutches for more than one male in a season, leaving the males to incubate and raise the chicks. Its numbers have declined somewhat, and the decline is not expected to stop. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, −0.3 EV. From the Marco Polo ferry, on a two-hour trip along the Orteguaza River, passengers see the Hacha River flow into the Orteguaza and watch for birds.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) belongs to the family Scolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List
