Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
– —
Abundance: Uncommon to Fairly Common early spring to early summer and mid-summer to late fall; Very Uncommon from early to mid-winter; recorded in 16 Regional counties, 6 in Kentucky and 10 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population migrating through or wintering in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).
Status: Transient; Visitor during winter (4 records).
Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 109 (12 May 2007; Pulaski County, Kentucky [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 6 (25 September 2004 and 18 September 2011; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB High Count: 4 (30 December 2008; Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky [CBC]; m. ob.).
Out-of-Season (Winter) Records:
1 December 2007 (1) Adair County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).
11 December 2007 (1) Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).
30 December 2008 (4) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (Aaron Hulsey), a CBC record.
27 January 2012 (3) Walnut Creek, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer, Stephen J. Stedman).
Regional Extreme Dates:
Spring: x (
Fall: x (
Note: Spring arrival generally widespread by 30 March and largely complete by 20 May; fall arrival typically widespread by 20 July and largely complete by 10 November. Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported spring departure, as well as earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported fall departure, for the migration seasons 2002–2011 follow:
| Year | Early Spring Arrival Date | Late Spring Departure Date | Early Fall Arrival Date | Late Fall Departure Date |
| 2002 | 9 March | 21 May | 25 July | 26 October |
| 2003 | 21 March | 16 May | 22 July | 6 November |
| 2004 | 22 April | 16 May | 30 July | 12 November |
| 2005 | 30 March | 28 May | 7 July | 1 October |
| 2006 | 7 April | 24 May | 28 July | 3 October |
| 2007 | 24 April | 24 May | 3 July | 30 October * |
| 2008 | 29 March | -- | 5 August | 29 November |
| 2009 | 5 March | -- | 13 July | 10 November |
| 2010 | -- | -- | 10 July | 3 November |
| 2011 | 26 April | -- | 16 July | -- * |
* See also Out-of-Season (Winter) Records (above).
Habitat: x
YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.
Remarks: x
Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.
| Barren | Metcalfe | Adair | Russell | Pulaski |
| Monroe | Cumberland | Clinton | Wayne | McCreary |
| Macon | Clay | Pickett | Fentress | Scott |
| Smith | Jackson | Overton | Putnam | Morgan |
| DeKalb | White | Cumberland | ||
| Warren | Van Buren | Bledsoe |
Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.
Literature Cited
