Willet

LC - Least Concern

SXB, SNRM - Presumed Extinct Breeding, Unranked Migrant

not listed

Willet is a large sandpiper. There are two subspecies, Western Willet (Tringa semipalmata inornata) and Eastern Willet (T. s. semipalmata). Western Willet nests in southwestern Canada and western United States. Most winter on the Pacific Coast but a few winter on the Atlantic Coast. In Minnesota the Western Willet is and uncommon migrant from mid-April to mid-May, a rare migrant from July to late September. Eastern Willet is rarely far from the Atlantic Coast. During migration Western Willet is found in wet fields, at the edges of marshes, and on the shores of lakes and ponds. They eat aquatic beetles, spiders, and small fish.

Willet looks like a Lesser Yellowlegs but is larger and plumper. The adult is 14″ to 16″ in length and has a wingspan of 26″. The non-breeding adult is gray above with white underparts and a white rump. The head is large with a narrow white eye ring and a white area above the lores. The bill is heavy, straight, and black. The wings are broad and rounded. The inner half of the wing is gray, the outer half black. There is a broad white stripe from the base of the wing to and around the primary wing coverts. The underside of the wing is entirely black with a broad white stripe. The legs are long and gray.

14″ to 16″ in length

26″ wingspan

Wet fields, marsh edges, lake and pond shorelines

Mid-April to mid-May and July to late September

Willet does not currently nest in Minnesota, though it has in the past.

Aquatic beetles, spiders, and small fish

Uncommon to rare migrant

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

Willet was formerly classified as Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, and was the only species in the genus. A molecular DNA study in 2005 showed that the species is closely related to the shanks and should be included with the shanks in the genus Tringa.

Single bird feeding in the lake.

Location: Northwestern shore of Gunflint Lake, Grand Marais

Single bird feeding in the lake.