The Willet is one of North America’s largest sandpipers, measuring 11–13 inches in length with a wingspan of roughly 26–29 inches and a straight, sturdy bill about 3–3.5 inches long. In non-breeding plumage it appears uniform gray-brown, but in flight it shows a striking white wing-stripe framed by dark feathers. In Arizona, the western subspecies (T. s. inornata) is an uncommon but regular spring and fall migrant through wetland habitats—most often seen at places like Cibola and Imperial National Wildlife Refuges, the lower Colorado River, and at seasonal lakes in Yuma and Mohave counties. Winter records are rare, and breeding does not occur in the state, so most Arizonan sightings occur from late March into May, then again from August through early October.
