Sanderlings at Culya Blet

These birds were on the shore of Deer Sound in Deerness. There are no deer in Orkney- the name is probably a corruption of a Norse word meaning 'dry' because the area has very little in the way of fresh water.
These birds arrived as I walked on the beach and may just have arrived on migration from the high Arctic. They may push on or stay here for the winter. They are just changing from the tortoiseshell breeding plumage into a more monochromatic winter garb.