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I think Sanderling was the first shorebird I positively identified. I must have been about 11 or 12 (?) and I remember seeing this small white wader running around on Blackpool Beach on a cold wintry day. Afterward I went to my Great-aunt’s house nearby and she had a copy of ‘The Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe’ and I found the Sanderling in there looked just like the one I’d seen earlier.
And here we are 40 years later.
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May not be the most colourful of birds but the fine and subtle detail of their feathers is special
I like the way they manically run around in the surf………..
I like the highsteppin’ last one
Thanks John, not been a vintage wader season this time round but at least I got some Sanderlings goose-stepping………….