Cool (very) birds of a feather

Reporter Contributor Jim Colligan braved the frigid arctic winds blasting Shell Beach this week to find creatures that revel in this weather.

He captured sanderlings  in flight and at rest on the beach. These medium-sized sandpipers — birds characterized by their love of beaches and high piping voices — breed in arctic climes. They feed on beaches, looking for their idea of delicacies, marine invertebrates.

They also provide opportunities for joy, especially when seen scooting here and there across a beach, or suddenly taking wing together.