Sanderlings run in the shallow water of the surf, always staying just ahead of incoming waves, and then chasing the waves back out as they look for food in the swirling water. Seeming always in peril, we've never seen them get overwhelmed by a wave. They stick together in small flocks and are always moving. Notice one of those below "drilling" down into the sand to find food.
All the Sanderlings on this page are juveniles. They have migrated south from the fringes of the Arctic Sea where they were hatched. Sanderlings lack a hind toe.
These are juvenile Willets, migrating southward along the east coast. They are characterized by a long, straight bill and gray-blue legs. They are a large member of the Sandpiper family.
This is an Osprey, not the feathered kind, but the kind used by the U.S. Marines. We were startled to see it flying straight down along the beach while we were looking for less metallic birds. The engine nacelles can be rotated until the propellers are pointed straight up, allowing the Osprey to land and take off like a helicopter.
