Tiny Spotted Sandpiper chicks
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJ9TKlFdNPWoVIFsa5huTz3xq03E037v9TwO3KixNPxf3_vOeJyYZBreo4j1z-qB6ycFF_XAERcMphWgxLNkjth-WjATkxvV_jp6ajH1jzogBNt6-5We8Ln1pliEWNJTTeKaK4KEctA/s400/SSandpiperChick-c1-Florence%252CCO.jpg)
I had to sneak up and sit, partially hidden from the parent, about 35 feet from where I watched the Spotted Sandpiper chicks in order for the parent bird to let these chicks come out from inside the vegetation where I could watch and photograph them. The parent continued in a state of alert and called the chicks back into hiding several times when other park users walked by. I was able to see two chicks together at one point but not sure if there may have been more as otherwise I only saw one at a time, and then usually at least partially obstructed by some vegetation. I was surprised to see such young chicks already doing the Spotted Sandpiper teetering. I am more amazed to read in Birds of North America (BNA) online that this begins within 30 minutes of hatching-these are indeed a precocial species. As I watched the chicks spent a lot of time in the cover of vegetation but when in view they would peck on the ground. BNA says they begin feeding themselves about 2 hours aft