25th November - The Sanderling, A Portfolio, Hill Head, Hampshire

With the tide low and the sun out on a lovely late autumn morning I walked the beach from the Sailing club towards the Brownwich Cliffs.  Having passed several Oystercatcher I finally found what I was hoping for a small group of Sanderling.  They were feeding along the tide line.  The tide was gentle in the calm conditions and rather than hunting for molluscs or worms they appeared to be picking insects or food off the surface of the water.  Initially they were going away, but as dog walkers and the general walkers came along the beach they turned and started to make their way back.  The tactic in this case is to settle down and let them come to you, with this approach the Sanderling show little fear and will just keep coming, sometimes turning back and on other times scuttling past with their clockwork like legs.  I settled in and waited and wasn't disappointed.

A dog came too close and they took off, fly past, a chance to get a flight shot.

Not all flushed but soon those that did joined up once more and continued to feed.  It was unusual to see them feeding breast deep in the water, normally they run away from the waves, but today saw it gentle so maybe they were taking advantage of what was being washed up.

The Sanderling is a very photographic bird, the winter plumage is a lovely silvery grey, coupled with the white throat and breast and the contrast jet black bill and eye.

I thought it appropriate to find out something about their life history.  Sanderlings breed in the tundra of High Arctic. Their nesting habitat ranges from moist sites with lots of vegetation to well-drained clay or gravel slopes, to the tops of stony ridges; it often includes arctic willows, sedges, heathers, purple saxifrage, and mountain avens. While migrating Sanderlings will stop on hard-packed sand beaches, tidal mudflats, rocky coastlines, and inland bodies of water—including ponds, streams, reservoirs, and shallow prairie lakes. They spend the winter on sandy beaches all over the world; some staying as far north as southern Alaska, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland while others go the whole way to the southern hemisphere.

The Sanderling roost here at Hill Head gradually builds up from early October and can peak at over a hundred birds by January, the birds being seen feed along the coast from Hayling Island Eastney, Browndown and al the way west to Warsash.

Sanderlings feed by running down the beach after a receding wave to pick up stranded invertebrates or probe for prey hidden in the wet sand. The diet includes small crabs, amphipods and other small crustaceans, polychaete worms, molluscs, and crab eggs. Sanderlings may also skim food from shallow pools while running, pick up moving prey on the ground, or—during the summertime—snap at flying insects. They eat crane flies, midges, mosquitoes, beetles, butterflies, and moths. When no animal prey is available, they will also eat plant material, including saxifrage buds and shoots, roots, grass seeds, algae, and mosses.

On beaches, Sanderlings are strong, fast runners as they perpetually scurry just ahead of arriving and retreating waves. On the nesting grounds males establish territories about 400 yards across, and both members of a breeding pair chase intruders from the territory. Sanderlings are mostly monogamous, but their mating system may differ from area to area and year to year. Males (and, less frequently, females) perform aerial displays before mating. The bird alternately flutters and glides in an erratic path in an area about 200 yards wide, dipping low to the ground and rising to 30 feet high or more while vocalizing; these displays can last 2 minutes. 

After pairing, the two birds accompany each other everywhere. Studies in Canada have found that females sometimes mate with multiple males in sequence when conditions are favorable. Both sexes incubate. When confronted with a predator, incubating parents freeze on the nest until the last second, when they creep away from the nest while feigning injury.

This individual was ringed with one silver ring, unusual as these waders are normally coloured ringed.

A better view of the ring.

And a close up of the ring itself.  I will post as soon as I have some definitive information on this particular bird.

The 2025 State of the Birds report lists Sanderling as an Orange Alert Tipping Point species, meaning that it has lost more than 50% of its population in the past 50 years and has shown accelerated declines within the past decade. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 650,000 individuals and rates the species 13 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score. Declines are probably caused by development or alteration of shoreline habitats—the sandy beaches Sanderlings live on are also prized by humans for recreation. Sanderlings are also vulnerable to pollution from pesticides and, especially, oil spills due to their close association with the ocean edge.  Conservation of long-distance migrants like Sanderlings is always complicated because of the birds’ reliance on distantly separated staging areas, which have to provide enough food at the right time, and which are all subject to their own habitat pressures.

This particular bird was feeding close to the sea wall as I walked back, once again I settled down to photograph from a low level as it made its way through the water, coming at me then turning around and heading back before doing it all over again.

At this point the Sanderling was so close to me I had the camera on 100mm, it eventually got within two feet of me.  I hadn't approached it, when I started photographing it was metres away, but was happy to walk right up to me.  At that distance you get a real appreciation of how small these beautiful little waders are and you can't help but admire the distances these birds travel and the weather conditions they can survive in.

There you have it, the Sanderling.  No doubt I will continue to take more photographs of them through the winter and for a long time, there is always the chance I might get a completely different shot from all of those I have!