Mayhew 1947 April 26 Western Sandpiper Bay Farm Island, Alameda Co., Calif. Great numbers of these birds began feeding just as soon as the tide began to drop, exposing the mud flats. They scatter out over all of the mud flats, as soon as the receding tide exposes them. They seem to walk constantly, stopping every few steps & pick food out of the mud. As the tide goes farther out, the birds become farther and farther apart. Instead of just following the edge of the water, they are about evenly spaced over the available feeding grounds. These seemed to be the most numerous of all the shorebirds seen today.