The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is known for its dramatic lekking displays and breeds near arcticcoastlines from central Alaska into Canada (Lanctot and Laredo 1994). This species nests in avariety of habitats ranging from dry sedge tussock tundra to wet sedge-graminoid meadows andstrangmoor (Lanctot and Laredo 1994). Buff-breasted Sandpipers typically forage in areas ofdry, elevated tundra with sparse vegetation primarily consuming terrestrial arthropods (Lanctotand Laredo 1994). This species is one of the few shorebirds that do not show a seasonal shifttoward lowland, wet sites during brood-rearing (Jones 1980, R. Lanctot, unpublished data). BuffbreastedSandpipers spend winters on the pampas of South America. Current population estimatein North America is 30-56,000 with a declining trend (Lanctot et al. 2010, Morrison et al. 2006).
