Taken by Dianne in the summer of 2006 near her home.
She sent the following account:
My neighbor Heather was able to watch baby sandpipers being hatched. She then called me to come see. With in 2 hours they had left the nest and were following the (mother or father) around on the shore. One was in the water within 3 to 4 hours. There were 4 hatched but one died. He tried to keep up with the other ones but seemed to be much weaker and not all his downy was covering his back. Different peeps from the mother meant different things. One was danger and the chicks would lay down flat. You could hardly see them. Another sound meant come to me . They would listen and scurry over the rocks until they were with her. They would snuggle up under her wings for 5 minutes. She would then leave again and run along the shore to find another spot and maybe some food. She would then call again and they would come running and get under her wings again. Really great to watch from a distance.