The sanderling is the most familiar small wader of sandy beaches, chasing waves up and down the shoreline in groups, with its welfare linked to the quality of sandy shore invertebrate communities and the security of its High Arctic breeding grounds.
Sanderling welfare on British beaches depends on undisturbed sandy shores with intact strandline invertebrate communities. Dogs chasing sanderling flocks along beaches cause repeated energy-costly flights during the winter period when birds have limited time to feed. Beach cleaning operations that remove strandline material eliminate the invertebrate food source. Arctic breeding habitat is among the most rapidly changing on Earth under climate change, with direct welfare implications for breeding success.