Sanderlings - a small sandpiper with black legs

Non-breeding sanderling sandpipers photographed in Galveston State Park, Texas.

I love shore birds.  They are a fascinating group, many of which have particular feeding niches due to their particular morphology - long, sometimes curved bills, long legs, and a wide range of behaviours.  One of the smaller species is the sanderling.

While visiting Texas a number of years ago, I came across a group of small shore birds darting along the edge of the surf.  They were stopping momentarily to probe the sandy shoreline for any invertebrates unfortunate enough to be discovered by their explorations.  Then, another wave would encroach upon their foraging, and they would run to another area where the water was receding back into the deep from where it came.  With every new wave they would relocate and continue their feeding.

Their non-breeding range is unlike most birds in that they are ubiquitous along Pacific and Atlantic shorelines with little presence intercontinentally.  You can see range map here.  They breed in the far North in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.  The remote location of their breeding makes them long-distant migrants, flying anywhere from 1800 miles to over 6000 miles to their non-breeding grounds.  They build up their body fat during the non-breeding season and burn it during their migration and breeding period.  While migrating south, they may stop inland at various rivers and lakes, repeating their probing feeding behaviour.

I see them from time to time inland, but infrequently.  The best place to find them is along a sandy ocean coastline during their non-breeding season.  They are fun to watch.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com