Sanderling, Calidris alba
Sanderlings nest in arctic North America and Eurasia, and in winter are found on beaches in temperate and tropical regions worldwide. They are typically seen in flocks, often large ones as above, flying, or as at the bottom of the page, foraging while running in and out at the edge of the surf. The white striped black wings appear in flight; non-breeding Sanderlings appear all or mostly solid pale gray above, see further down.
Breeding plumage, above and the two below, showing rufous-orange on head, breast, and upperparts, with considerable individual
variation in amount of rufous. Note rufous-fringed tertials on bird above, white-fringed just below; second bird down has little
rufous on the head.
Juvenile, identified as such by black feathers with white fringes on back and wings, and black streaking on head.
The non-breeding plumage appears all pale gray above or nearly so when the bird is on foot, see above and below; compare the white-striped black appearance of the wings in flight, seen in the image at the top of the page.
Sanderlings often make patterns, see above and below.
A large flock of Sanderlings running up the beach ahead of an incoming wave, a characteristic appearance of the species. I digiscoped this scene at sunset with a point-and-shoot camera in 2002, making this one of my earliest bird photographs.