“Semipalmated sandpipers. 200,000 of them. These birds are on a huge migration from Canada’s Arctic to South America. They stop here to feast on the shrimps, and they can’t move on until they’ve doubled in weight. Each small bird must harvest up to 20,000 shrimp in a single tidal cycle.”
Competition for space and shrimp may be tough within the sandpiper swarm, but the migrant birds’ numbers are a huge benefit when a skilled predator emerges.
See how sandpipers evade the super speedy peregrine falcon—and how one injured bird doesn’t—in this intense Nature on PBS clip: Mesmerizing Sandpipers Hunt… While Being Hunted.
Swarms! Migration! Watch these related videos next:
• Why peregrine falcons are the fastest animals on earth
• Like Feathered Fighter Jets: Peregrine Falcons
• How do hornbills pluck bats out of the air?
• Incredible sardine run feeding frenzy – Earth Touch in South Africa
• Tarpon and sharks feast on millions of grey mullet
Bonus: What is a habitat?
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