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Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

 

Calidris acuminata

IUCN status: Vulnerable

Flyway population 130 000 (2022 estimate)

 

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Moreton Bay. Qld. Robert Bush.

Identification

Small wader with a distinctive pattern of brown in its feathers.  Usually seen on wetlands in small groups.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Peter Boyd © 2011

Plumage

Non-breeding: The feather pattern of a brown feather that is fringed with paler buff.  This gives a scalloped appearance to the bird.  This pattern is to be found on the upperparts.  The crown is chestnut with black streaks.   There is a white supercilium.  The rest of the head and neck are grey-brown streaked with black.  The breast is pale buff with brown speckles.  The rest of the underparts are off-white.  The short bill is black with a greenish base.  The legs are olive green.

Breeding: Similar to the non-breeding plumage but breast has a buff colouration and the markings there are more like chevrons.

Juvenile:  Similar to the non-breeding plumage but sharper.

 

Confusing Species

Pectoral Sandpiper: Very similar.  No chestnut crown, and the cut-off of the breast colour to the under belly lower and more distinct.  The legs are yellower and the bill is more down-curved.

Curlew Sandpiper:   Similar in size, but has a distinctive down-curved bill.  Its red breeding plumage makes sure that there is no confusion.

Red-necked Stint:  A much smaller sized bird which occurs with the Sharpie but should not be mistaken.

Distribution

Breeds in high arctic tundra of north-east Siberia. Migrates to New Guinea, Australia, and in small numbers to New Zealand. Can be found in coastal and inland locations. Prefers non-taidal fresh or brackish wetlands.

 

Monthly reports of Red-necked Stint in Queensland

Monthly sightings

Best sites in Queensland to see Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Yearly trends in Queensland

Population trends:

Number of shorebird areas used in the trend analysis: 34

Generation time: 5.1 years (Bird et al. 2020)

Percent change in abundance over three generations: 19.77 (95%CI: -51.86, 235.20)

Percent change in abundance between 1993 and 2021: 4.08 (95%CI: -57.46, 151.80)

Percent annual change in abundance between 1993 and 2021: 0.14 (95%CI: -3.01, 3.35)

Percent annual change in abundance between 1993 and 2012: 0.23 (95%CI: -5.17, 5.56)

Percent annual change in abundance between 2012 and 2021: 1.89 (95%CI: -9.14, 16.77)

Change in annual growth rate between 1993-2012 and 2012-2021: 0.016 (95%CI: -0.11, 0.17)

International and Nationally Important sites in Queensland

Significant Bird Area Year Peak Count International National
Moreton Bay 2022 2187 Yes Yes
Burdekin River Delta 2019 2000 Yes Yes
Mapoon 2017 1601 Yes Yes
Bowling Green Bay 2012  1488 Yes Yes
Alva Beach 2021 1500 Yes Yes
Karumba Plains 2013 1363 Yes Yes
Burnett River Estuary 2015 1202 No Yes

Conservation 

EPBC listing:  Vulnerable, Marine, Migratory

Approved conservation advice:

https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/consultation-document-calidris-acuminata.pdf

References

  1. BirdLife Australia (2023). Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. [Text before updates sourced from: Marchant, S. et al (eds) 1990-2006 Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.Volume 1 to 7.] Birdlife Australia. Birdlife Australia. Source: https://hanzab.birdlife.org.au/species/sharp-tailed-sandpiper/ Accessed: April 30, 2026 Time Zone: +10:00
  2. Mlodinow, S. G., G. M. Kirwan, J. van Gils, and P. Wiersma (2025). Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), version 2.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney and M. G. Smith, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.shtsan.02.1
  3. eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available:  http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: Date 12/4/2026)
  4. Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
  5. Geering, Andrew, Lindsay Agnew, and Sandra Harding, eds. Shorebirds of Australia. Csiro Publishing, 2007.
  6. Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
  7. van Swinderen, L., Hansen, B.D., Fuller, R.A., Watkins, D., Rogers, D.I., Clemens, R.S., Newman, M., Woehler, E.J., Weller, D.R. and LeClair, S. (2025). Revision of the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
  8. https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/