The green sandpiper (Tringa nebularia) measures 30 to 34 cm in length, and its wingspan is 55 to 62 cm. We recognise it by its long green legs and a long, relatively sturdy and slightly upward-curved bill. The legs of juvenile birds and those in winter plumage are duller, gray-green in colour. The base of the bill is gray-green, the tip is black. The upper parts – the back and wings – are gray. Juveniles are darker on top, with light-edged feathers forming a striped pattern; on the breast they are evenly striped, their belly is white. Adults in winter plumage are lighter gray on the upper parts, with a grayish breast and no pronounced pattern, while in summer they are more boldly coloured. The green sandpiper is mainly a carnivorous bird, feeding both by day and by night. The main part of its diet consists of insects, especially beetles and their larvae, but also annelids (earthworms and leeches) and crayfish. It is a very wary bird, which can often be observed wading in shallow water in search of fry.
From the end of April to July, individual pairs mainly nest in pine forests that thrive by wetlands, bogs, lakes or rivers in northern Europe. The nest is usually built on dry ground near a rock outcrop or rock, which serves as a landmark. One of the parents, usually the female, flies to the wintering grounds at the beginning of July, and the rest of the family follows about a month later. They spend the winter in southern Africa or in Australia, where they stay near water: in swamps and around inland lakes or in lagoons, mangroves and along river deltas by the sea. In our country, green sandpipers can most often be observed during migration, when they rest on floodplain and marshy meadows and by shallow standing waters, taking a break from the long journey and waiting for favourable conditions to continue their migration.
As with other living beings tied to wetland areas by water, the green sandpiper is also threatened by the loss of suitable habitats. These disappear mainly due to drying up, regulation and pollution of water bodies. We must not forget that wetlands are not only home to numerous animals and plants, but are also the largest water purification system on our planet. As such, wetlands are extremely useful and invaluable also for the human race.
