Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

Wading in the surf, the curved bill is used to extract small crabs and worms from the sand. Many migrate long distance from South America to the High Arctic, stopping each Spring along the shores of California to feed. Numbers peak in mid-April before they fly non-stop to Cook Inlet in the Gulf of Alaska, and from there over the mountains to northern Alaska and the Mackenzie Delta where they breed.