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Pale grey upperparts with darker grey spots
- In non-breeding plumage sanderlings have pale grey upperparts with darker grey spots. The underparts remain white and there is a dark carpal patch on the wing. Males and females are similar although the female is slightly larger and has less chestnut during breeding season.
www.birdspot.co.uk/bird-identification/sanderling
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How to identify. The Sanderling is a small, plump, energetic wading bird. It has a short and straight black bill and medium length black legs. It's pale grey on top and white underneath, and has a black mark on its shoulder where the folded wing meets the body.
Sanderling. The caricature of a Sanderling is a small, white mouse-like wader chasing the tideline back and forth on a sandy beach. These birds are winter visitors to Britain & Ireland, distributed widely around the coast and preferring long sandy beaches and sandbars.
Plump sandpiper with a stout black bill. Nonbreeding birds are pale gray above and white below without streaking. Darker shoulder bar sometimes visible.
A noticeable black mark adorns their shoulder, aligning with the folded wing. While Sanderlings are not UK breeders, they are familiar winter visitors and passage migrants during spring and autumn, travelling to and from their breeding grounds in the high Arctic.
Sep 2, 2024 · Photographic Identification Guide. Sanderling (Calidris alba) (SAND), a world-wide denizen, is a common fall and winter visitor to southern New England shores. In all plumages, recognize this small sandpiper due to its sturdy, short bill, short legs and rounded body. In winter, it is the palest of our shorebirds.
How to identify. Similar to the knot, the sanderling is smaller and paler, with a dark patch on the shoulder and with black, rather than green, legs. It is best recognised by its behaviour, scampering about on the beach rather than walking and probing in the mud.
If you’d like to identify a sanderling, look out for groups of small light birds at the tide line. They’re one of the whitest waders in the winter, with a white underbelly and pale grey upper wings, neck and head.
