Feeding both during the day and at night, Willets take most of their prey from the surface, using their sensitive bill tip to grab up worms, snails, and insects. They also probe for sand crabs and other prey on mudflats and beaches, and take shellfish and small fiddler crabs from rocky shorelines. You’ll usually see them on wetted shorelines or wading close to the water’s edge, but occasionally Willets paddle in shallow waters to chase down small fish and crabs. In spring, the pill-will-willet flight call marks the arrival of Willets on the breeding grounds. Willet pairs often remain together for several years and return to the same nest sites. Males loudly defend their nesting and feeding territories, challenging their neighbours with a ritualised walk along territorial boundaries that can escalate into physical attacks. Both parents incubate the eggs and teach the young to feed. The female Willet departs the nest site up to two weeks ahead of the male, leaving her mate to finish raising the chicks.
Photographer: Dave Saunders