Sanderlings: Assateague Island

As I make this post Hurricane Sandy is grinding her way towards the New Jersey coast.  Her projected path is charted to bring her center to within 40 miles of my home somewhere around daylight tomorrow.  The wind is howling outside driving sheets of heavy rain before it.  So far our electric power has stayed on but with the lights flickering frequently I'm thinking that it is only a matter of time before we loose it.

 

Working with the photos from our weekend getaway, I cannot help but think about the kind people we met at Chincoteague and what they are going through tonight.  The causeway between the island and the Eastern Shore was closed at 7:15 this morning and those left have no choice but to ride out the storm.

 

Sanderlings were present along the Assateague beach in large numbers.  They are quite entertaining to watch as they rush down the beach with each receding wave rapidly probing the sand for a morsel of food.

And with each incoming wave rush up the beach again only to turn around and repeat the process time and time again. 

Sanderling probing the beach as a wave recedes

Having caught a crab or shrimp of some type this bird runs to avoid sharing its catch.

Once clear of the flock it drops the morsel 

And breaks it into smaller more manageable pieces

 

These sanderlings showed virtually no fear of humans frequently coming too close for my lens to focus.  The most difficult part of photographing them was trying to keep up with their rapid movement.