Sanderlings: York County, Maine, USA, September 2024 — The first early migrant Sanderlings reached us here in Southern Maine late last week. They were only here briefly and then off further south on a favorable wind. Looking up Sanderling, it turns out this is the Sand Plowman, based on the Old English name and their habit of pushing the beak through the sand ahead of them in search of prey. If you enlarge the second image you an actually see what it is about to eat. It takes a lot of critters that size to fuel a migration. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.