2022-0211 A Day On The Beach
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Sanderling runs away with large Emerita
These two species are major players in the drama that unfolds every day on the beach. Sand crabs, Emerita analoga, are juicy morsels stuffed with oily tissue which which is a great source of energy. Sanderlings catch them by running down to the base of a receding wave, where Emerita are filtering out particles of food from the receding wave.
But while some sand crabs, especially the larvae that have recently settled out of the plankton into the beach sand, are small enough for a sanderling to swallow immediately, larger ones like the one the bird is carrying, can't be swallowed whole. And when that happens, the bird in possession of the sand crab becomes the object of intense chases, by sanderling as well as other birds that also eat sand crabs. Ring-billed Gulls often pursue the bird with the crab through the air until the sanderling drops its prey.
And larger species like Black-bellied Plovers, Willets and Marbled Godwits also run down to the wave's base in search of Emerita. When they are successful, and when the crab is too big for them, also, a sanderling will often hang by the plover hoping that it will drop part of the crab. The sanderling will chase away other sanderling from this feeding opportunity.
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