Submitted by Peter R.B. Ward

I was thrilled to notice, while inspecting a large flock of Semi-palmated and Western
Sandpipers in February this year, that one was carrying a leg flag. My location was on the
beachfront near Paracas, about 4 hours drive south of Lima, Peru. I was checking several small
and large sandpipers, and trying to separate them by species. Imagine my delight when I
noticed that one was carrying a leg flag on the left leg, and a numbered band on the right leg.
The birds congregated most of the day on a rock breakwater, and they were used to proximity
to guests at the hotel, and were thus approachable. I got close enough that I was able to
capture exceptional detail with my 530 mm telephoto lens, and got the leg flag number “V3T”.

I contacted the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory in Patuxent, Maryland, and got an immediate
reply, with the band number that went with Flag “V3T”. The bird was banded in 2019 near
Johnson’s Mills, NB, located at the north end of the Bay of Fundy. At the time it was at least 2
years old, based on banding records.

Amazingly, with a return journey of more than 13,000 km to the coast of Peru and back, and
with at least 9 annual journeys to and fro, the bird has travelled a huge distance. At least
117,000 km in its lifetime. One never ceases to wonder.

Peter R.B. Ward 17 March 2026