Sandpipers (Scolopacidae) are a fairly large family, represented in Europe by 51 species. Of these, almost 30 have been observed in Slovenia. Of the genera that mainly occur here, we count the following in the sandpiper family: dunlins (Calidris), phalaropes (Philomachus), curlews (Numenius), godwits (Limosa), woodcocks (Scolopax), snipes (Gallinago), sandpipers (Tringa) and small sandpipers (Actitis).
Most sandpipers prefer to nest in the expansive tundra in the north of Europe and Siberia. The nests, which they usually scrape into the ground, are not concealed too much. They rely on protective coloration that makes the brooding parent and the eggs inconspicuous.
In other parts of Europe, representatives of the sandpipers are most often seen during migration or during wintering, when they gather in flocks on marshes and coastal shores. Then you can most easily observe how they search for food. From the surface of the ground they tirelessly pick up small animals or they thrust their typically long and thin bills into the soft substrate in which various invertebrates hide. The shape of their bill is, in fact, adapted to finding certain kinds of animals that live in a given type of substrate. They also supplement their diet with plant-based food.
