Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the Purple Sandpiper
The Purple Sandpiper is a dumpy slate-gray colored bird with a white belly and eye ring, and short yellow legs. It is a rarity to the Great Lakes, so many bird watchers were out to get a first hand life view. Its normal range is the arctic, and winters along the coasts of the North Atlantic-further north than any other shorebird. Its habitat is wave washed rocks, jetties and eats mostly insects and mollusks. I was walking up the Bradford Beach when I came to a log to step over. The shells on the beached seemed to move. Looking closely, this small dumpy bird was seen darting around while the Gulls and Mallards were sitting.