By Magnus Robb, Lukas Pelikan & The Sound Approach

Green Sandpiper

With some departing their breeding grounds even while the last spring migrants are still arriving, Green Sandpiper is very much the advance guard of autumn migration. This species is likely to be our first reward if we are restarting nocmig sessions after an early summer break.

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Green Sandpiper 
Tringa ochropus 
Besh Barmag, Siyazan, Azerbaijan (BB), 19:41, 1 April 2019. Kluuit, kluuit-klit and klu-u-it-klit calls of a nocturnal migrant. Background: Caspian Sea. For a zoomed-in sonagram from this recording, see example a) below. 190401.MR.194100.01                                   

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Flushing a Green Sandpiper by day, you may hear alarm calls as it takes off, soon followed by kluuit-klit-klit calls as it flies further away. This is the same call that we hear from migrating individuals at night.

Green Sandpipers rarely congregate in large groups; most nocturnal migrants fly alone or with a handful of companions. Single birds and flocks use very similar calls, and rarely add any other call-type while migrating. For the sake of completion, we include two others below, which we have heard only in the context of flocks.

Identification

kluuit-klit-klit call

  • level series of medium-pitched whistles, each rising sharply rising at the end
  • first whistle is twice as long as any that follow
  • 3 or 2 whistles per series typical; anything from 1 to 6 per series not unusual
  • wide frequency range, with each call consisting of 3 parts
  • not markedly different in flocks, but see below

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a) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Besh Barmag, Siyazan, Azerbaijan (BB), 19:41, 1 April 2019. Kluuit, kluuit-klit and klu-u-it-klit calls of a nocturnal migrant. The call shown occurs at 0:09. Background: Caspian Sea. For a zoomed-out sonagram from this recording, see the top of the page. 190401.MR.194100.01

b) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Kirchmöser, Brandenburg, Germany, 05:18, 23 August 2018 (Lukas Pelikan). Two kluuit-klit calls of a nocturnal migrant; sonagram shows the first.

c) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Sagres, Vila-do-Bispo, Portugal, 05:37, 10 September 2018 (GM). Single kluuit-klit-klit call of a nocturnal migrant. 180910.MR.053720.02

d) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Arne Moors, Dorset, England 22:35, 17 July 2015 (Paul Morton). Twelve variants of kluuit-klit-klit call from a nocturnal migrant, containing from two to five whistles. Sonagram shows call at 0:25. Background: European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus and Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus.

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e) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Odeceixe, Aljezur, Portugal, 04:25, 31 August 2016. A single kluuit-klit call of a nocturnal migrant. 160831.MR.042505.01

f) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Besh Barmag, Siyazan, Azerbaijan (BB), 19:22, 2 April 2019. A single klu-uit-klit call of a nocturnal migrant. 190402.MR.192206.01

g) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Kennemerduinen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands, 00:35, 3 September 2018. Single kluuit-klit-klit-klit-klit call of a nocturnal migrant. 180903.MR.003515.01

h) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Paralimni, Famagusta, Cyprus (JS), 04:36, 11 September 2018. Two kluuit calls of a nocturnal migrant. 180911.MR.043608.01

flocks

  • excited flocks sometimes give ‘endless’ kluuit-klit-klit-klit-klit…. calls (i); we have heard up to 24 klits in a row
  • on a couple of occasions, we have come across a quiet series of short arched or peaked pit-pit-pit… notes in among kluuit-klit-klit calls (j); maximum frequency around 4 – 4.5 kHz

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i) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Portland Bill, Dorset, England, 03:05, 22 August 2018 (Nick Hopper). Calls of a flock of nocturnal migrants, including ‘endless’ kluuit-klit-klit-klit-klit…-type calls. Background: Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis.

j) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Odeceixe, Aljezur, Portugal, 06:24, 26 August 2017. Quiet pit-pit-pit calls at 0:02, in among kluuit-klit-type calls. 170826.MR.062430.02

Effects of recording quality

  • Closer calls show ‘feet’ and ‘forelegs’ at the start of each whistle, and a second harmonic at double the frequency of the entire call (eg, a & h). In the closest calls, if the first whistle is fragmented, it may be possible to discern the spindly U-shaped connecting links between fragments (f & h).
  • More distant calls lack ‘feet’ and ‘forelegs’ at the start of each whistle, and with very distant calls it may only be possible to discern the highest -it part of each whistle (d).

Similar NFCs

  • Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos also has NFCs consisting of a series of rising whistles, but they are much higher-pitched, occupy a narrower frequency range, and the first whistle is shorter, not longer than the ones that follow. ‘Endless’ variants of kluuit-klit-klit-klit-klit… may invite confusion with Common when the longer first whistle is obscured among calls of many individuals. In this case the lower pitch is the most important clue.

Where and when?

  • anywhere: over towns, forests, mountains and offshore
  • any time: both diurnal and nocturnal
  • can be heard all night: peak activity towards the end of the night

Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Maximum estimates of calling individuals per night: low, medium and high activity. See introduction for a full explanation.