The Sanderling is the little wind-up shorebird of the beach, the pale, restless sandpiper that chases the retreating waves and scampers back ahead of the next one on blurring black legs. Palest of the small sandpipers in its nonbreeding gray-and-white plumage, it stands out against the wet sand and lacks the hind toe that most sandpipers have, an adaptation for its fast running gait. In late spring some birds show a warm rusty wash on the head and breast as they molt toward breeding colors.
Sanderlings are extreme long-distance migrants that nest in the high Arctic and winter on beaches around the world, and Michigan sees them as passage migrants along Great Lakes sand beaches. Small flocks work the surf line and wave-washed sand from late spring and again through the fall, probing and picking for tiny invertebrates. Their tireless wave-chasing along Lake Michigan and Lake Huron shorelines is one of the more charming sights of shorebird season.
Feeds on small invertebrates in the wave-washed sand and along the water's edge, probing and picking for tiny crustaceans, insects, and other prey exposed by the surf. It follows the waves in and out to reach food as each wave uncovers the sand.
Very likely Sanderlings. They famously run down the beach after each retreating wave to feed on exposed invertebrates, then dash back up ahead of the next wave, in near-constant motion.
No. They breed in the high Arctic and only pass through Michigan on migration, feeding along Great Lakes sand beaches in spring and fall before continuing to distant wintering beaches.
In migration it is the palest small sandpiper, clean gray above and white below, with a straight black bill and black legs. Look also for its wave-chasing behavior and, in late spring, a rusty wash on the head and chest.
Spring adults are rusty-headed and mottled, while fall and winter birds are the palest sandpipers on the beach — nearly white with a black shoulder mark. Juveniles are checkered black and white above.
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