A flock of shorebirds stopped today at the pond on their migration trip. Spotted Sandpipers Actitis macularius, catch food in several different ways. Like most other sandpipers, they probe into sand or mud with their bills looking for food -- aquatic larvae of insects, beetles, worms, snails or crustaceans. And like herons, they also lunge at moving small fish in the water, pick insects off plants, or snap at flying prey.
