Breeding Habitat:Grassland
Nest Type:N/A
Migration Status:Neotropical migrant
Nest Location:N/A
As their name implies, Upland Sandpipers prefer grassland habitats on their North American breeding grounds and South American winter range as well as during migration. They are very rarely found near water. With their loud distinctive whistles, territorial males can be regularly detected on roadside surveys. On the BBS, this shorebird is most numerous on the central Great Plains from northern Oklahoma to North Dakota, and locally in Montana (Relative Abundance Map). It is generally recorded in small numbers elsewhere in its breeding range.
Over the entire survey period, breeding populations have significantly increased in 3 states/provinces, 4 strata, the Central BBS Region, United States, and Canada. Other regional trends are generally non-significant increases. Significant declines are limited to populations in Wisconsin and the Osage Plain-Cross Timbers stratum (S33) (Trend List). During 1966-1979, significant increases and declines are nearly equally distributed in states/provinces and strata, while regional trends include increases in the Central BBS Region, United States, and survey-wide. The state/strata trends show increases after 1980, when all regional trends are non-significant. The trend map shows fairly consistent increases from the Great Plains to the western edge of the breeding range (Trend Map). Declines are centered in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and locally elsewhere in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada.
The survey-wide indices exhibit a slight increasing tendency, especially after the late 1970s (Survey-wide Annual Indices). Population trends in the Central BBS Region show a similar pattern, while those in the Eastern BBS Region are essentially stable. Populations in Nebraska and North Dakota have generally increased throughout the survey period (Nebraska Annual Indices). (North Dakota Annual Indices). Increases in the Kansas population are most evident prior to the early 1980s, while Upland Sandpiper populations in the High Plains Border stratum (S34) began to increase during the late 1970s (Kansas Annual Indices). (High Plains Border Annual Indices). In contrast, the Wisconsin population has experienced a fairly consistent decline since the mid-1960s (Wisconsin Annual Indices).
During the nineteenth century, Upland Sandpipers were abundant summer residents of native grasslands throughout the Great Plains. Their breeding range probably expanded eastward once the forests were cleared, where this species quickly adapted to residing in pastures and hayfields (Cadman et al. 1987). Their continental numbers were decimated by market hunting between the late 1800s and 1916 (Kirsch and Higgins 1976), when many breeding populations were nearly extirpated. Subsequently, these populations have slowly recovered. Increases in the Great Plains during the BBS survey period could reflect a continued recovery from the effects of market hunting during the beginning of this century. In the eastern portion of the breeding range, especially from Ohio through the northeastern states, Upland Sandpipers have noticeably declined since the 1940s (Carter 1992, Peterjohn and Rice 1991). Small remnant populations currently reside in these states, primarily at airports. Changing farming practices, residential/urban development, and reforestation are thought to be largely responsible for declines in the northeastern states (Carter 1992).
Cadman, M.D., P.F.J. Eagles, and F.M. Helleiner, eds. 1987. Atlas
of the breeding birds of Ontario. Univ. of Waterloo Press,
Waterloo, ON. 617 pp.
Carter, J.W. 1992. Upland Sandpiper. Pp. 235-252 in K.J.
Schneider and D.M. Pence, eds. Migratory nongame birds of
management concern in the Northeast. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Newton Corner, MA.
Kirsch, L.M., and K.F. Higgins. 1976. Upland Sandpiper nesting
and management in North Dakota. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 4:16-20.
Peterjohn, B.G., and D.L. Rice. 1991. The Ohio breeding bird
atlas. Ohio Dept. Natur. Resour., Columbus, OH. 416 pp.