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Sanderling

 

Calibris alba

IUCN status: Least concern

Flyway population: 30 000

Australian population 10 000

 

Identification

Small, pale wader usually seen on sandy beaches.

Plumage

Non-breeding:  The head and upperparts are pale grey with darker grey mottling, though the forehead is white.  The underparts are a pure white.  The rump is white with a dark central line.  The bill is short and black.  The legs are black.
Breeding:  The upperparts and breast are mottled dark reddish-brown.
Juvenile:  the upperparts are dark grey with white notches and fringes to the feathers.  The crown is dark grey with white streaks.

 

Confusing Species

Red-necked Stint:  This bird is smaller than the Sanderling and more colour on the upperparts.  It does not have the white forehead either.
Curlew Sandpiper:  This bird is slightly larger with longer legs and a down-curved bill.  In its breeding plumage there is no difficulty in identification.
Broad-billed Sandpiper:  Although pale this bird has more markings and a double supercilium, plus has a slightly longer down-curved bill.

Sanderling and Red-necked Stint. Moreton Island. Qld. Robert Bush.

Distribution

Breeds in high arctic tundra of Asia and North America.  Migrates widely to all six continents. Usually encountered in small flocks on ocean beaches.

 

Monthly reports of Sanderling in Queensland

Monthly sightings

Best sites in Queensland to see Sanderling

Yearly trends in Queensland

International and Nationally Important sites in Queensland

Significant Bird Area Year Peak Count International National
SE Gulf of Carpentaria 2013 238 No Yes
Moreton Bay 2019 135 No Yes

Conservation 

EPBC listing:  Marine, Migratory. – not listed as threatened

 

References

  1. BirdLife Australia (2023). Sanderling. [Text before updates sourced from: Marchant, S. et al (eds) 1990-2006 Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.Volume 1 to 7.] Birdlife Australia. Birdlife Australia. Source: https://hanzab.birdlife.org.au/species/sanderling/ Accessed: April 30, 2026 Time Zone: +10:00
  2. Macwhirter, R. B., P. Austin-Smith Jr., and D. E. Kroodsma (2020). Sanderling (Calidris alba), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sander.01
  3. eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available:  http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: Date 12/4/2026)
  4. Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
  5. Geering, Andrew, Lindsay Agnew, and Sandra Harding, eds. Shorebirds of Australia. Csiro Publishing, 2007.
  6. Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
  7. van Swinderen, L., Hansen, B.D., Fuller, R.A., Watkins, D., Rogers, D.I., Clemens, R.S., Newman, M., Woehler, E.J., Weller, D.R. and LeClair, S. (2025). Revision of the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
  8. https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/