While most of its relatives are never found far from water, this species has made itself at home on the grasslands. Of the 47 species of shorebirds known to nest in North America, only the Killdeer, Mountain Plover and Long billed Curlew have a similar strategy of nesting and feeding in upland prairie habitat. Formerly, the summer range of the Upland Sandpiper extended from Maine to Kansas and then northwest to Alaska. Recently it has suffered declines in the eastern part of its range but it is holding steady in the Great Plains.
Fragmentation of habitat is probably responsible for the declines.
The Upland Sandpiper prefers grasslands of 40 acres or more and these have been disappearing rapidly in the northeastern U.S. due to old fields changing back to forest and suburbanization of the countryside. In its habitat, it cannot be confused with any other bird. The flight of the Upland Sandpiper is very distinctive - with shallow, stiff, fluttering wingbeats. It often perches on fence posts or telephone poles. After flying to the perch, it will hold its wings briefly above its body in a motion that looks like a stretch.