Sandpipers & Snipes in California
Our list for California has 28 sandpipers & snipes recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 2 summer visitors, 10 winter visitors and 11 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in California in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 28, most common first
Bar-tailed GodwitLimosa lapponicaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Jul–Oct
Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemasticaPassage migrantRare36–42 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaPassage migrantRare18–23 cmRegularly Sep–Dec
Little StintCalidris minutaPassage migrantRare13–15 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataPassage migrantRare17–22 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Least Sandpiper 13–15 cm
- Little Stint 13–15 cm
- Western Sandpiper 14–17 cm
- Baird's Sandpiper 14–17 cm
- Semipalmated Sandpiper 15–18 cm
- Red-necked Phalarope 18–19 cm
- Dunlin 16–22 cm
- Sanderling 18–20 cm
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper 18–20 cm
- Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 17–22 cm
- Stilt Sandpiper 18–23 cm
- Curlew Sandpiper 18–23 cm
- Grey Phalarope 20–22 cm
- Pectoral Sandpiper 19–23 cm
- Solitary Sandpiper 19–23 cm
- Ruddy Turnstone 21–24 cm
- Wilson's Phalarope 22–24 cm
- Red Knot 23–26 cm
- Lesser Yellowlegs 23–27 cm
- Ruff 20–32 cm
- Short-billed Dowitcher 23–32 cm
- Long-billed Dowitcher 27–30 cm
- Greater Yellowlegs 29–40 cm
- Willet 33–41 cm
- Bar-tailed Godwit 37–41 cm
- Hudsonian Godwit 36–42 cm
- Whimbrel 40–46 cm
- Marbled Godwit 40–50 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made