Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Although many shorebirds are only found in the Arctic during the breeding season, with the onset of fall, many will start appearing along the Massachusetts coast. One example of this is the sanderling (Calidris alba). Sanderlings are long-distance migrants, breeding only on the far northern Arctic tundra, while dispersing to almost all sandy beaches of the world during the winter, including Cape Cod. Sanderlings are medium sized sandpipers and have fairly distinctive nonbreeding plumage: white belly and breast with grey…