One of September’s nature highlights is the migration of sandpipers. It is a moving sight to see a large flock of them pass through Maine as they make their way from the Arctic to South America. To see this phenomenon, one has to go the coast.

That’s what Hope Brogunier and I did last week. We went to a salt marsh and our wishes were granted. Several dozen lesser yellowlegs, a kind of sandpiper with long, yellow legs, ran around in the salt pannes (small shallow ponds) catching tiny fish, insects and crustaceans.

Occasionally they spot something several feet away. Then they run fast through the shallow water towards their prey. If the fish is on the water’s surface, the yellowlegs is a comical sight, running with its body, neck, head and bill stretched horizontally. The bill is open, upper mandible in the air, lower mandible under the water. Then, snap! They catch a tiny fish. Their mode of catching food is visual.

We also found a different species, the stilt sandpiper, named for its long legs. It feeds in a very different way. It walks in the water, its bill going quickly up and down like a sewing machine’s needle. It has a bill that probes in the mud, sensing worms and small mollusks. Its mode of catching food is tactile.

We saw another wonderful aspect of the sandpiper migration – several dark wispy “clouds” of sandpipers flying against the sky. These flocks were mostly comprised of the smallest sandpipers, collectively called the “peeps.” They were coming from the coast, and disappeared several miles away in this long salt marsh, the Weskeag near Camden.

Most sandpipers make their nests in the Arctic tundra, but one species makes its nest and raises its young along Maine’s lakes, streams, ponds and rivers – the spotted sandpiper. It can be seen in Maine from May through September walking and teetering up and down along the water’s edge. It molts its feathers in August and loses its spots, but is still easily recognized by its habit of teetering.

These three sandpipers, and more, are headed down the coast to Central or South America, or Cuba for the winter, quite a trip. Good luck, little sandpipers.

For information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.