Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary

The Willet

The Willet is a larger sized grayish brown colored shorebird.  The Willet is a familiar sight on beaches and in salt marshes all along the coast of Cape Cod.  This shorebird is fairly abundant on the Cape with a loud and distinctive call in flight.  Willets are grayish brown in color with dark streaking and barring overall.  They have a thick gray bill and gray legs.  They are usually seen poking and probing muddy areas for food.  The Willet has a bold black and white wing pattern.  These recent photos were captured on an overcast day at Great Sippewissett Marsh.  Click here for a map of the location.

 

The Birds of North America Online provides an introductory article on the Willet.  In the preview it states that “the Willet loudly heralds the arrival of spring from aloft with its ringing “pill-will-willet” call, accompanied by flashing wing-beats.  This species has one of the greatest latitudinal ranges of temperate breeding shorebirds in North America—from the Canadian Maritimes to Venezuela. It is the only North American sandpiper with a breeding range that extends south of the North-temperate region.

 

According to the Cape Cod Bird Club and the Birding Cape Cod book, South Beach in Chatham “has become the premier shorebird site in all of New England and during the peak of southbound shorebird migration from mid-July through late August, the total number of shorebirds here can exceed 15,000 birds, presenting the observer with an overwhelming spectacle.  Often present in the hundreds are: Willets, Greater Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstones and others.”

Enjoy!
Craig Gibson