Shorebird ID Quiz ~ test your yourself before these beautiful birds arrive here in Wisconsin this spring! 33 species, see how well you do. All shorebirds below were photographed in Wisconsin. Answers are below last photo at the bottom of the page. There is a chance you may see some color variation in shorebirds considering sex, age or time of year. There are books, FB groups, phone apps, classes to lean more. There are also presentations to help in learning bird ID, look for details at your local nature center. Special Note: I have complied a list of 36 shorebirds you might see in Wisconsin. I am missing 3 of those images for various reasons, sorry. This quiz may not be as easy as the warbler quiz! So don’t look for these in the quiz as they are missing: Solitary Sandpiper, Hudsonian Godwit, and Long-billed Dowitcher.
# 1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15 Note: This species is considered a rare bird in Wisconsin
#16
#17
#18
#19
#20
#21
#22
#23
#24
#25
#26
#27
#28
#29
#30
#31
#32
#33 Very rare in Wisconsin, seen in 2021
ANSWERS BELOW
#1 – Buff-breasted Sandpiper
#2 – American Woodcock
#3 – American Avocet
#4 – Black-belled Plover
#5 – Short-billed Dowitcher
#6 – Purple Sandpiper
# 7 – Marbled Godwit
#8 – Whimbrel
#9 – Killdeer
#10 – Semipalmated Plover
#11 – Dunlin
#12 – Sanderling
#13 – Upland Sandpiper
#14 – Ruddy Turnstone
#15 – Western Sandpiper
#16 – Red Phalarope
#17 – Lesser Yellowlegs
#18 – Greater Yellowlegs
#19 – Black-necked Stilts
#20 – Willets
#21 – Red Knot
#22 – Wilson’s Phalarope
#23 – Pectoral Sandpiper
#24 – Semipalmated Sandpiper
#25 – Baird’s Sandpiper
#26 – Wilson’s Snipe
#27 – Spotted Sandpiper
#28 – Stilt Sandpiper
#29 – Least Sandpiper
#30 – Piping Plove
#31 – American Golden-Plover
#32 – White-rumped Sandpiper
#33 – Snowy Plover
Great series Jim
This is awesome! I’m a little embarrassed that I got the greater and lesser yellowlegs reversed — it’s easier for me to tell them apart in the field apparently. I also got the red-necked and the Wilson’s phalarope mixed up, but I already knew I needed more work identifying those. Thanks for having the Dunlin in breeding plumage so I didn’t have to embarrass myself further. Thanks for this!
Loved this one too. I did slightly better than on the warblers.
Woah, I am _really_ bad at ID’ing shorebirds. Okay, now I know I need to put in some serious beach time. Thank you for the quiz! Was fun, if not entirely self-affirming. 😉
Thanks for putting these quizzes out. They are very helpful fun ways to get better at identifying birds.
Jim, you have obviously devoted a lot of time and effort in producing your series of quizzes. They have helped me (and I’m sure, many more people) enormously. Thank you very much.
Thanks! It was fun. I didn’t do very well but sure love the pictures and I know I have seen quite a few of these lovely little scamperers.
Jim,
Enjoyed the quiz and I only missed the Red Knot, but should have known that one even if it is not common. I can say that even if you don’t know all the species you still can enjoy the beautiful pictures.
Thanks again
Thanks, it helped that your photos captured classic behaviors and habitat, especially needed that for the stilt sandpiper. I’ve got some studying to do. (peeps, lesser yellowlegs proportions to start with)
Thanks Jim. Always love your quizzes. A good reminder going in to migration that I better start studying!
Thank you – shorebirds are fun! Nice to have good photos to learn from. Best birding!
Thanks Jim! Beautiful shots!
Thanks Jim! This is a BIG help!
Thank you Jim! I’m cram-studying for shorebird surveys in 2 days and this was a huge help. Got a pretty good score despite being used to Nevada shorebirds ^>^ Have a great peep season!