Sanderling

Sanderling, Calidris alba, Tijuana Estuary Reserve, California. These little guys have a circumpolar distribution and Winter all the way down to the Southern Hemisphere. This one is Wintering in lovely San Diego.

What's for Dinner?

Sanderlings in feeding frenzy, Calidris alba, Tijuana Slough Estuary. Every now and then I'll see a whole flock of birds go crazy over a patch of sand. I even tried digging around in one of those patches once but didn't find much (different birds, different beach). Best I can tell, there appear to be patches of sea worms along the beach. Why the worms are clustered in little patches I cannot tell you but the birds love them. Now, realize that I only found what looked like the remains of one worm post birds so, of course, I could be wrong about what WAS down there. At least I didn't get bit by anything digging around down there to have a peak. The other question I had was how the heck do they know they've found a worm under all that sand? Do they have some sort of sensory organs on the end of their beak? Do beaks have nerves in them kind of like your being able to feel something with your fingers? Too many questions for this late at night! I'm going to bed and if I'm lucky, someone will have answered them when I wake back up!

Flock of Sanderlings

A picture of a flock of sanderlings that were flying up and down the San Diego river bed in unison. They are a sight to see when in flight. They decided to camp out on the mud flat with a gull for a short rest.

Sanderlings

I snapped this picture of Sanderlings at Sunset Beach on Oahu, Hawaii. They were running up and down the beach. For the most part, the surfers and the sanderlings paid no attention to each other. They ran right by me allowing me to get some really nice pictures. Amazing that these little birds can fly all the way to the Arctic where they spend the Summer and breed and then make it all the way back to Hawaii for the Winter. Seems like a long way to fly for such a little bird. I have no idea if they land somewhere along the way.