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Sanderlings are small waders. Their plumage is cryptic. When seen in Australia, they are usually (but not always) in eclipse plumage. During the non-breeding season they have a white front, except for some grey wash on the shoulders. Except for the white frons and inconspicuous white eyebrows, the head is light-grey. The back is grey with a brownish tinge, with dark-grey central lines and light-grey edge lining on the wing feathers. In-flight they show a conspicuous, broad white wing bar and a longitudinal black bar along the centre of the uppertail. During the breeding season, some birds develop a crisper white front and a darker back, with more prominent scalloping on the wings, while others develop a rich chestnut front (down to the chest) and head that are scalloped light-grey. The back turns chestnut, with dark-grey patches and light-grey edge lining on the wing feathers. The eyes have dark irises. The black bill is straight and about as long as the size of the head. The legs and feet are black. The legs are short, giving the species a "dumpy" appearance. In flight the feet do not protrude beyond the tail. Juveniles roughly resemble non-breeding adults, but they have a crisper scaly pattern on their back.

Twitcher's tip

Compared with (the smaller) Red-necked Stint, Sanderlings in non-breeding plumage are discernible by the LACK of a fourth, small hind toe.

Note that Sanderlings have a very variable breeding plumage. Some birds show a rich chestnut front and head, while others remain rather colourless, with some showing what looks like non-breeding plumage with just a bit more contrast between white and grey parts. In their non-breeding plumage they are the palest of all calidrids.

The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Sanderling is available HERE .

Sanderlings are a strongly migratory species. They breed in suitable habitats along the northern coastline of all continents in the northern hemisphere and on islands inside the Arctic circle (northward of 70 degrees latitude). Outside the breeding season they migrate to their winter quarters. Their circumpolar distribution during the breeding season makes it possible for them to reach the coastlines of most continents/seas (except Antarctica), including Europe, the Americas, Arabia, Asia, Africa and even Australia.

Sanderlings are non-breeding migrants to Australia from the North. Arriving anywhere between the Pilbara in WA and the tropical East coast of QLD, they populate the entire Australian seaboard, including offshore islands and the coastline of Tasmania. There are only a small number of confirmed sightings in the Australian interior.

Outside their breeding season Sanderlings have a preference for sandy beaches.

We first spotted Sanderlings in Australia at Old Bar, NSW, in July 2013.

B. Hensen reports seeing Sanderlings at Lee Point, Darwin, NT, in March 2013 and July 2013. A single Sanderling was seen by us at the same location in August 2014. P. Brown also found the species at the same location in February 2020.

J. Greaves reports spotting Sanderlings at Kilcarnup Beach, WA, in December 2016.

M. Eaton reports finding Sanderlings at Nudgee Beach, QLD, in March 2018.

Sanderlings were also spotted by us in Europe and in Oman.