Sanderling at Huntington Beach – Charleston, South Carolina

This picture of a Sanderling bird in the sea foam of Huntington Beach was taken by John Bernabeu of Murrells Inlet.

John describes his photo: “My wife Sharon and I are relatively new retirees to this wonderful area (July 2004) and simply love to walk the beach at Huntington all year long. We are both amateur photographers and try to capture wildlife as we find it. All my life I have been fascinated by ‘sea foam’ and when I could get a Sanderling included I almost fainted! Huntington Beach State Park played a serious role in our decision to retire to this area.”

The Sanderling (Calidris alba) is a migratory bird that covers long distances from its wintering to its breeding grounds. It spends the summer in the High Arctic, where it typically lays three to four eggs. When the cooling weather arrives, it will make the trip down south, stopping anywhere from Massachussetts to South America. It stays exclusively close to the coast and can often be sighted “running” on South Carolina beaches in the winter.