Sanderlings Can Be Tough

Sanderlings are those little birds that run along the edge of the water just barely keeping out of the incoming waves. They look like they are having a fun day at the beach as the group zips along. They also look for food in the sand exposed as the tide goes out. These pictures were taken at low tide as a little flock moved up the beach and probed the sand for whatever morsels they could find.

Things got a little tense though. One of them found an open clam that a gull left lying in the sand. Another one spotted him and decided that it wanted a piece of action. It was like two kids wanting the one last hotdog at the picnic. The peaceful morning on the beach turned into quite a squabble. I caught the whole encounter in this long series of photos.

To the victor go the spoils. I am pretty sure it was the one who found the food in the first place. It looks like he was giving a victory yell when it was over.