Shorebirds

Sanderling

Only a small fraction of the continental population of Sanderlings occurs in Alaska. It is a very rare and irregular breeder on the North Slope, with most confirmed records limited to Barrow. The Sanderling, however, is one of only a handful of shorebird species that winters in Alaska, although it is only relatively common at that time of year in the Aleutian Islands (Kessel and Gibson 1978). The Sanderling was among the very first shorebird species for which significant population declines were documented (Howe et al. 1989). Subsequent analyses have generally confirmed that trend (Donaldson et al. 2001, MacWhirter et al. 2002).

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Last Updated: September 18, 2008