The North American population of the Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) winters along the Pacific Coast, from the Bering Sea to northern California (AOU 1998). In Alaska, where it is the most abundant winter resident shorebird (Gill and Tibbitts 1999), the species uses substrates of soft or coarse sediment (Gill and Tibbitts 1999), whereas rocky shorelines are the primary habitat in the southern part of its range (Paulson 1993).
Rock Sandpipers are rarely encountered away from the coast (Campbell et al. 1990). Perhaps because of their close association with rugged or isolated coasts, little is known about their winter population status.