Species › Birds

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareola

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Presence in the Strait: Migrant
Abundance: rare
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Andarríos bastardo

40% of its open observations in the area are from September.

Photograph: Kim, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 19–21 cm
Wingspan: 36–40 cm
Weight: 75 g

Presence in the Strait

Rare migrant to wetlands. One winter record on 25.01.90 on the marshes at Marismas del Barbate.

Identification

Similar to Green Sandpiper, but more slender, with longer yellowish legs. Overall paler in colour with more prominent supercilium. In flight, displays pale underwing and legs protrude more.

Movements

More marked prenuptial migration with peaks 1st hf. April and 1st hf. October.

Ring recoveries

Sweden (2), Denmark (1) and Finland (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

40 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 9 April 1966
Latest record: 29 December 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Where they come from

4 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Sweden2
Denmark1
Finland1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Green Sandpiper21–24 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Common Redshank27–29 cm · Seasonal
Spotted Redshank29–32 cm · Migrant
Common Greenshank30–35 cm · Seasonal
Lesser Yellowlegs23–25 cm · Vagrant

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
GBIF taxon key: 2481713

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Kim, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Wood Sandpiper

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery