{"id":3223,"date":"2011-10-05T16:26:58","date_gmt":"2011-10-05T22:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=3223"},"modified":"2024-09-01T03:52:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T08:52:03","slug":"sanderlings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/10\/05\/sanderlings\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanderlings – Tiny Dynamos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SanderlingSanderling feeding on a Pen Shell –<\/span> <\/span>Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanderlings are\u00a0little shorebirds that are found high in the Arctic tundra during breeding season and during the winter they can be found on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts from Canada to Argentina, during migration they can also be found inland on the banks of rivers and the\u00a0shorelines of lakes.<\/p>\n

Sanderlings feed by following waves to capture any small creatures that may have been left by the receding water then as soon as a wave starts to come into the shoreline the Sanderlings scramble to keep ahead of the incoming water. It is amusing to watch these frenetic shorebirds as they dash back and forth. They must burn up a lot of calories!<\/p>\n

In the image above the Sanderling came across a Pen shell (I always called them Turkey Wings) that had been washed up on the shore by a storm the day before and was pecking away at something I couldn’t see on the tissue that had extruded from the shell.<\/p>\n

\"SanderlingSanderling feeding next to the Gulf – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm at 300mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When photographing shorebirds I like to get down to their level which usually means flopping down on my stomach and holding the lens close to the ground while being very careful to protect the camera and lens from the damage that sand or water could cause. I feel the by being at this low of an angle that I am in the bird’s “world”.\u00a0In my opinion it is a rather neat feeling to be at eye level with such a small bird.<\/p>\n

When I plan on getting “down & dirty”\u00a0 while photographing I usually always carry along a change of clothes because\u00a0I just never knew how\u00a0I would\u00a0smell after laying in the damp sand or ground.<\/p>\n

\"BreedingBreeding plumage adult Sanderling – Nikon D200, handheld, \u00a0f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanderlings in breeding plumage are colorful with rich browns and warm rufous colors that contrast very nicely against the clean white of their chest and stomach. The head and neck also become more vibrant. Personally I find all the plumage phases of Sanderlings appealing.<\/p>\n

Sanderlings can be a challenge to photograph because they move erratically\u00a0at a very fast pace but\u00a0creating images of them at their level\u00a0is\u00a0well worth the trouble of getting dirty and being exhausted by\u00a0trying to follow the movements of these tiny dynamos. Just keep the shutter speed up!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Sanderling photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sanderlings can be a challenge to photograph because they move erratically at a very fast pace but creating images of them at their level is well worth the trouble of getting dirty and being exhausted by trying to follow the movements of these tiny dynamos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,704,468,287],"tags":[4004,4053,991,5132,4040,4077,4246,3980,4477,10940,992,274,3996,4119],"class_list":["post-3223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-honeymoon-island-state-park","category-sanderlings","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-calidris-alba","tag-coastal","tag-feeding","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-pinellas-county","tag-sanderling","tag-sanderlings","tag-sandpipers","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-water","tag-waves"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/sanderling-nonbreeding-florida-mia-mcpherson-9485.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-PZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6737,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/12\/09\/sanderlings-in-breeding-and-nonbreeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":3223,"position":0},"title":"Sanderlings 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rotation can make an image work. 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