The boldest by far of all the shorebirds that use Lea-Hutaff IBA is the Sanderling. The Sanderling is a small, active bird with tidy-looking plumage, a medium-sized bill and a habit of feeding in the swash zone. Chances are, if you’re looking at a little grayish white bird running just in front of the surf, you’re looking at a Sanderling.

In order to count birds, we often stand still for periods of time scanning a shoal or sandbar with a scope. Often times, when I’m done counting I look up from the scope and notice that a Sanderling has meandered to within a few feet of my shoes. They also hang out near fishermen, sidling up to look for tiny scraps of bait. Despite being only eight inches long, they don’t appear fazed by people, at least those that are standing or sitting calmly. This Sanderling was feeding on a shoal in Rich Inlet (the south end of Lea-Hutaff Island IBA) and came very near to the tripod.

Sanderlings are found worldwide, with a population of about 300,000 in the Americas. They breed in the high Arctic and fly thousands of miles to winter along the Atlantic seaboard from Massachusetts to the Gulf Coast and south to Argentina and from BC to Baja in the west. So this little bird that was plucking worms out of the sand in North Carolina flew over 3,000 miles to nest in the short but productive Arctic summer.

Although Sanderlings are common along our coast, their overall numbers have declined since the 1970s by as much as 80%. Many factors affect their ability to survive, from climate change that impacts their breeding grounds and food sources to habitat loss at stopover sites they rely on during migration. Wherever you are on the coast, it’s easy to help these birds. Walking directly up to them or letting a dog run will flush shorebirds and interrupt resting or feeding, but moving slowly and standing still may reward you with a visit from a curious Sanderling.

-- Lindsay Addison