This diminutive wader is generally seen only during the winter months, and is always close to the very edge of the shoreline. If you see a small bird scurrying around like a clockwork mouse, just managing to avoid the breaking waves, you’ve found a Sanderling. They are always hyper active, and very amusing to watch.

They breed in the high Artic, but find Shoreham-by-Sea relatively mild for a winter holiday, where they feed on small marine worms, crustaceans and molluscs. They sometimes associate with other wading birds like Dunlin and Turnstone.