Well, that certainly does describe this little guy. Although he wouldn't be able to outrun a dog (or me) he could really move.
Orion looked up information on sandpiper life cycles after I came back to the house. Apparently, by the time the mother is done hatching the eggs she's pretty sick of the whole deal, and after about a week to 10 days, she leaves and migrates south, leaving the dad to continue taking care of the babies (which may be why this adult was by itself -- I thought its mate had been killed, but perhaps she just packed her bags and left). Then after another 10 days or so -- the point at which the babies start to feather out and become able to fly -- the father does the same thing, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves until they're old enough to migrate. Talk about latchkey kids!
Re: Har!
Orion looked up information on sandpiper life cycles after I came back to the house. Apparently, by the time the mother is done hatching the eggs she's pretty sick of the whole deal, and after about a week to 10 days, she leaves and migrates south, leaving the dad to continue taking care of the babies (which may be why this adult was by itself -- I thought its mate had been killed, but perhaps she just packed her bags and left). Then after another 10 days or so -- the point at which the babies start to feather out and become able to fly -- the father does the same thing, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves until they're old enough to migrate. Talk about latchkey kids!