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Dining with Sanderlings
A busy little bird with a very broad diet.
© Marshal Hedin
While many shorebirds have gone south, tiny sandpipers called Sanderlings are easy to find on winter shores. They follow the waves as they lap in and out, probing the swirling sand for prey. They often eat various small crustaceans such as mole crabs, isopods, and amphipods. But they also enjoy miniature clams, polychaete worms, and horseshoe crab eggs. They’ll even catch flying insects or eat plant matter.
BirdNote®
Dining with Sanderlings
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
[Breaking waves]
Though most birds that enliven beaches in summer have gone south, tiny sandpipers called Sanderlings are easy to find on winter shores. They’re intensely busy birds, persistently following the smallest waves as they lap in and out.
[Sanderling calls]
High tide pushes burrowing invertebrates closer to the surface of the sand. As the waves retreat, the top layer of sand swirls loosely. Sanderlings rush in to probe the sand for prey with their small but tough beaks, then flee as the next wave breaks.
The diversity of a Sanderling’s diet is impressive. Various small crustaceans, especially mole crabs, isopods, and amphipods are important elements.
[Sanderling calls]
A Sanderling’s probing also yields miniature clams and bristly, segmented polychaete (pronounced PAWL-uh-keet) worms. In spring on Delaware Bay, horseshoe crab eggs are a vital food.
[Sanderling calls]
And a Sanderling’s dining options don’t end there. They chase invertebrates through shallow pools and pluck flying insects out of the air. In a pinch, they can turn to plants: buds, seeds, and algae.
But they’re best known for that elegant dance at the edge of the waves. Watch for them performing along most of the U.S. coast, from city shorelines to barrier islands.
[Sanderling calls]
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Sanderling ML3063 recorded by Charles A. Sutherland, and Sanderling ML138280 recorded by Gerrit Vyn.
Sanderling Xeno Canto 588403 recorded by S. Wroza, and Sanderling Xeno Canto 505581 recorded by S. Nilsen.
Nature SFX 021 Surf Small Detailed recorded by Gordon Hempton.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote February 2022 Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# SAND-02b-2022-02-15 SAND-02b
References:
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/sander/cur/introduction
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sanderling/lifehistory#food
Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Ariana Remmel
NarratorSights & Sounds
