Willet

A type of large shorebird in the sandpiper family.

How to Recognize Them

• Size & Shape: Larger and stockier than many sandpipers, with long gray legs and a straight, sturdy black bill.

• Plumage: In winter (as shown here), they have a plain grayish-brown coloration overall. Their summer breeding plumage is more mottled and patterned.

• Key Feature: When they spread their wings, they reveal a striking black-and-white wing pattern, which is their most distinctive field mark.

Behavior

• Willets forage in the intertidal zone, probing the wet sand with their bills for invertebrates like crabs, worms, and small mollusks.

• They often wade calmly in the shallows but can be pretty vocal, giving loud, ringing calls when disturbed.

Range & Seasonal Presence

• Breeding: Inland wetlands and grasslands in the northern U.S. and Canada.

• Wintering: Along both coasts of North America, including California.

• In the Coachella Valley, Willets are most often seen during migration, particularly around the Salton Sea and other large inland bodies of water, where they stop to rest and feed.

Ecological Role

Willets play a vital role in controlling populations of small crustaceans and insects in mudflats and estuaries. They also serve as indicators of wetland health, since they depend on clean, intact shoreline habitats.