Willets can be identified in flight by their prominent, distinctive white wing stripe. (Jerry Kirkhart/Flickr)
The willet is a large, grayish-brown sandpiper with a distinctive black and white wing pattern. It lives in the Chesapeake Bay’s salt marshes and on tidal flats from spring through autumn.
Appearance:
Mottled grayish-brown plumage
Brown belly
Large white wing stripe bordered by black
Long, straight bill
Bluish-gray legs
Grows to 17 inches
Habitat:
Lives in salt marshes and along tidal flats
Often seen bobbing on the water’s surface close to the shoreline
Range:
Visits the Chesapeake Bay from spring through autumn
Particularly common along the Bay’s eastern shoreline
Moves to the Atlantic coast in winter
Feeding:
Eats small fish and invertebrates such as worms, insects, mollusks, amphipods and fiddler crabs
Predators:
Predators of adult willets include hawks, herring gulls, snakes and otters
Crows, ravens, snakes, foxes and raccoons all prey upon willet eggs and young
Flight:
Can be identified in flight by its prominent, distinctive black and white wing pattern
Voice:
Makes a noisy pill-will-willet
Reproduction and Life Cycle:
Nests in the lower Eastern Shore’s tidal marshes from mid-May to late July
Females lay an average of four olive-colored eggs into a grass-covered depression in the ground
The male incubates the eggs at night
About 2-3 weeks after the chicks hatch, the female abandons the nest. The male remains for about two more weeks to care for them.
Can live for 10 years
Other Facts:
Tends to be nervous, often sounding an alarm call at the first sign of danger
