Only to Ornithologists???

Question

Can you please tell me, WHAT DO SHOREBIRDS EAT??? What do North America shorebirds eat. If you have a source please write it down.

Answer 1

Sandpipers and sanderlings eat tiny crustaceans, insects, and invertebrates. Their beaks are slender, allowing them to pick out the creatures from their burrows in the sand. When you watch them, this is what they are doing at the water's edge. The larger the species, the bigger the prey. Ones that wade further out often stir up water (whimbrels, etc.) and mud with their feet, eating crabs and mussels, etc, from the shallows.Oystercatchers are self-explanatory.

Gulls are scavengers, and eat just about any edible thing that washes up. I have watched them eat starfish, fidh skin, clams, crabs, dead fish, squid, etc. Terns and skimmers are suface feeders, skimming and eating small creautures from the wave tops. Pelicans are fish eaters, as are cormorants and loons. They dive for their food. Ducks eat plankton, vegetable matter, and small invertebrates.

Answer 2

I am not a professional ornithologist, but I have taken ornithology classes.

The answer to 'what do shorebirds eat?' depends on what particular species of shorebird you are referring to, and can also vary depending on what shoreline they are feeding along, and even what time of year it is.

Some birds will eat small fish, tadpoles and invertebrates from the water, while others will catch flies and other insects along the beach. Other birds will use their bills to dig up burrowing worms, molluscs and crustaceans.

So it varies quite a bit. Shorebirds are a pretty diverse group of critters, and have different ecological specializations. I don't think it's possible to generically say 'shorebirds eat bugs' or something along those lines.

Answer 3

Shore birds eat fish, clams, shrimp, crabs, anything they find along the beach or catch.