A male sanderling in breeding plumage is one thing to see, a chook with a traditional shorebird profile – horizontal torso, slim, longish invoice, respectable set of black gams – wrapped in a fancy serape of rufous feathers that vary from espresso to deep bronze to wenge to virtually black. Or so the sector guides inform me. I’ve by no means seen one in breeding plumage.
Sanderlings are a number of the most well-distributed birds on the earth. The adjective most frequently used to explain them is cosmopolitan, which typically makes you consider city avatars of couth, or at the very least Carrie Bradshaw’s favourite cocktail, however in actuality means they’re discovered on each continent however Antarctica.
Although discovered on each continent, they don’t breed on each continent. They breed within the excessive Arctic tundra – the northernmost elements of Alaska, Canada and Siberia, in addition to, for some climatic purpose, each center and southerly elements of still-owned-by-Denmark Greenland.
The everywhere-but-Antarctica a part of their vary map is way broader in non-breeding season, which is the boreal winter. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s typically stodgy and linguistically restrained “Birds of the World” web site says the species “could also be discovered on virtually any sandy seaside, anyplace on the planet!” with the exclamation level seeming virtually wanton in comparison with the remainder of the location’s prose.
The females are rather less dramatically coloured than the males, however there’s nonetheless somewhat heat of their hues.
When they’re inhabiting the world’s seashores, i.e. after we get to see them, neither gender is imbued within the aforementioned Seventies autumnal coloration palette. As a substitute, each female and male are a minimalist grey above and white beneath. It’s a coloration palette I have a tendency to think about as radically inoffensive, the type of coloration schemes you see in Dwell journal or the properties of people that rent different folks to pick their furnishings, and nonetheless different folks to wash it.
Even supposing they breed within the Arctic, yow will discover them within the Keys year-round. I don’t assume I’ve gone a single month within the final 20 years or so with out seeing a number of sanderlings if I’m on the town.
Why shorebirds that breed in different places could be readily discovered throughout their breeding months in a spot they don’t breed is one thing of a thriller. Sanderlings don’t breed till their second 12 months. So it’s doable a number of the ones we see right here in the summertime are immatures that didn’t migrate again for the summer season. It’s additionally doable they’re birds of breeding age that simply didn’t migrate for some purpose, like sickness or a normal disinclination.
I’ve at all times questioned why the sanderlings we see right here in the summertime maintain their grey and white non-breeding plumage. Perhaps the hormonal change that was imagined to encourage them to fly north didn’t occur, and the identical hormonal shortfall stored the breeding plumage from coming in. Perhaps returning to their breeding territory is what triggers the plumage change in sanderlings. The one factor I do know is I haven’t seen a sanderling trying remotely rufescent down right here.
The sanderling is a type of uncommon species in North America with a mononym – a single phrase identify. It’s that cosmopolitan-ness once more. There is no such thing as a northern sanderling or southern sanderling. There’s simply sanderling.
The identify is derived from Outdated English. Some sources say the etymology is easy – a diminutive moniker for a creature that lives on sandy seashores. Different sources say it comes from sand-yrðling or sand-yrthling, the yrðling or yrthling half that means plowman, or extra particularly, farmer, as in a creature that farms the sand. Nonetheless different sources say the phrase derives from sand and eel as a result of, I don’t know, pulling tiny crustaceans out of the sand is by some means eel-like?
They’re typically described as feeding in small, conspecific flocks, that means typically feeding solely with different sanderlings. However after I first began birding it appeared I at all times noticed them working the identical patches of sand and seaweed as ruddy turnstones. They had been the Abbott and Costello of the shorebird world, the peanut butter and jelly. You hardly ever noticed one with out the opposite.
Ruddy turnstones are additionally a relatively cosmopolitan species, somewhat greater than sanderlings, somewhat bulkier, with a stubbier invoice, orange legs, a considerably extra fiery rufescence in breeding season, and a hanging black sample within the face that’s normally described at harlequin-esque.
In recent times sanderlings appear to have turn out to be extra frequent and ruddy turnstones much less so. I can’t bear in mind the final time I noticed a ruddy turnstone. Which doesn’t essentially imply something. Birds transfer round lots. Whether or not you cross paths with them or not doesn’t at all times have lots to do with whether or not they’re round or not.
However I acquired curious and went to the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature’s Pink Checklist web page, which tracks the overall inhabitants well being of over 166,000 birds, mammals, reptiles, timber, corals, fish, and members of the plant and animal kingdoms.
In line with the IUCN, the sanderling is a species of least concern, with a inhabitants lowering in some elements of its vary, however rising in others. As of 2019 the ruddy turnstone was additionally thought-about a species of least concern. However in July of final 12 months it was re-ranked as almost threatened, with an estimated lower in its inhabitants of 20%-26% over the past 18 years.
Whereas that lower in inhabitants is troubling, it might not account for me not seeing any within the final 12 months or two. So I went to eBird to search for current information, and sure, they’re nonetheless seen fairly generally at locations like Higgs Seaside, White Road Pier and Fort Zach. (For those who ever desire a almost positive solution to see a ruddy turnstone, have lunch at Keys Fisheries in Marathon. However don’t give them any French fries. It’s actually unhealthy for them.)
So I’m going to maintain my eyes somewhat wider, and hopefully catch sight of a ruddy someday quickly.
I’m additionally contemplating heading to the far north certainly one of lately, if solely to see sanderlings of their seasonal finery.