Hitha Santosh, Mount Prospect School
Somerset County
Upland Sandpiper
"Hey! Gia! Come back here! Grassine! That pebble is not for eating!"
"Oh---hi! Sorry, I didn't see you there. My chicks can be such a bother."
"What are you doing, Grassine?"
"See what I mean?"
"So, anyway, you wanted to learn about us upland sandpipers, right? Well, it's time people learned more about us. Hmm...where should I start? Oh, right, by introducing myself. I'm Sandy, an upland sandpiper, also known as a 'shorebird of the grassland.' While most of our relatives are never far from the beach, we upland sandpipers choose to live in the grasslands. It's a very nice place to live, but it gets pretty cold in the winter, so we fly down to South America."
"What do we eat? Well, mostly insects and other small invertebrates, and most of those damage crops. But the ungrateful farmers harvest their crops earlier and more frequently, threatening our eggs and our young. This isn't our biggest problem, though."
"In the 1800s, our biggest problem was hunting. When the passenger pigeon became extinct, hunters turned their guns at uplands sandpipers. We were nearly wiped out! But luckily, the Migratory Bird Conservation Act was passed in 1916, and we started making a recovery."
"We're still endangered, though. Now our, biggest problem is habitat loss. The nice farms and meadows that we live on are being replaced by ugly buildings. But you can help! You can write letters to building companies about why they shouldn't destroy our homes, or organize a protest or petition. And remember, there are many wildlife organizations out there that you can join or donate money to."
"Hey! Genice! I'm trying to have a conversation here! Chicks, chicks, chicks. They leave their nest, that scrape in the ground there, when they're only one day old, and we care for them until they're 30 to 44 days old. You won't believe what a nuisance they make of themselves during that time. So, anyway, I hope you learned a lot about upland sandpipers, and that you'll help protect us. Oops, got to go! Bye!"
Hitha Santosh
Mount Prospect School
Basking Ridge, NJ
Mrs. Scully