The water rolls in
The water recedes
The sanderlings follow
To capture their needs

They feed they rest
They keep moving on
Freedom their ticket
To shorelines beyond

This painting was commissioned, and coincidentally it came up the day before leaving for the gulf coast of south Texas to photograph other birds.  The timing was perfect, so I added sanderlings to the list and was fortunate enough to come across one small group on the second day of…