Sanderling #4
The Sanderlings of summer on Westray were a joy to get close to. Lying on the beach, keeping still, and watching them was such a great experience. Especially with crashing waves behind them.
The name Sanderling comes from the Old English sand-yrðling, which means ‘sand-ploughman’. They are up and down the tideline as often as any Westray farmer is up and down the surrounding fields.
It’s quite emotional to realise they spend their summer breeding in the Arctic, in a distribution that rings the pole, and then set off for a winter in South America, southern Europe, Africa and Australia. It’s a privilege to see them.
The sandy beaches of Westray are the perfect stopping-off point on their endlessly repeated journey, programmed from generation after generation of survival.
Sanderling are sand-ploughmen in the sands of evolutionary time, with deep furrows across thousands of miles of the Earth over millions of years.
And we are here to experience this brief moment together.
More Sanderling
Sanderling and seaweed There are Sanderling heading in to feast on the invertebrates left by the retreating tide on Taftend. There is a… read more
Small, plump and energetic Sanderling are a delight to watch. They are busy, frenetic even, and dedicated to picking up any morsel of food… read more
The Sand Ploughman The name Sanderling is from the Old English sand-yrðling, or ‘sand-ploughman’. This one has been ploughing the tideline for tasty morsels and… read more
A splash of Sanderling It's a dull day but I'm forcing myself to go out. If you only ever went out on sunny days… read more
Sanderling incoming It's a dull day when the Sanderling arrive. It's soon bright and beautiful on the white shell sand beach as… read more
Scurrying Sanderling Sanderling are one of my favourite wading birds. Actually, they're one of the few species of waders I can identify… read more
Sanderling #1 There are Sanderling on Sands o' Maesan. They are energetic beyond imagination. They work the tideline as if their lives… read more
Westray Coast 50 – Day Two My adventures on the second of five days walking the entire coast of Westray. read more
Westray Coast 50 – Day One My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray. read more