Species › Birds

Sanderling

Calidris alba

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: abundant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Correlimos tridáctilo

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 159084

Photograph: Marco Chan, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 20–21 cm
Wingspan: 36–39 cm
Weight: 60 g

Presence in the Strait

Abundant coastal winter visitor (>1.200), with some summer visitors.

Identification

Similar to Dunlin, but with shorter and straighter bill, without rear toe and broader white wing-bar in flight. Summer plumage consists of rufous chest and upper body, similar to Little Stint.

Movements

Very long migrations since its breeding area is in the Arctic. Peaks in 1st hf. April and 2nd hf. September.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

26 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 24 February 1971
Latest record: 18 April 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Same genus in the Strait

Curlew Sandpiper18–23 cm · Migrant · overlapping size
Dunlin16–22 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Pectoral Sandpiper19–23 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Red Knot23–25 cm · Migrant
Little Stint12–14 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
GBIF taxon key: 2481748

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Marco Chan, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Sanderling

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Gallery