Male Pectoral Sandpiper in Øygarden, western Norway 22 June 2006. Note the large breast sac. Males use it for making their characteristic hooting sound during courtship. This was only the fourth county record.
Listen to the hooting sound of a displaying Pectoral Sandpiper from Barrow in Alaska in 1976 (MP3). Recording kindly provided by Pete Myers.
Pectoral Sandpiper breeding in Norway?
Several Pectoral Sandpipers have been observed in Norway during the species regular breeding season. Most of these birds are obviously on early return migration together with other sandpipers. Like this bird from Øygarden, several individuals have shown aggressive behavior and with well developed breast sacks. The species has never been confirmed as a breeder in Norway, but might well be the next one out!
Below you can see a short video of the bird while it is preening, filmed through the telescope (Nikon CP 4500 and Swarovski AT80HD):
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