In the Southwest this small sandpiper is usually found in flocks during the winter and in migration. It is restricted to muddy flats and moist grassy areas where they run together and fly in tightly coordinated flocks that zig and zag across the water. On its breeding grounds in the Arctic, its grassy nests are located on elevated tundra near water. They eat insects and invertebrates probed from mud. Some individuals winter as far south as northern South America.
The four-digit banding code is LESA.
