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Tug of War

Energetically probing in the wave washed sand for small crustaceans and other burrowing inhabitants, this hunakai successfully locates a polychaete worm. Now it wrestles to pull the worm from the sand before the incoming wave. It stays in constant motion while feeding, chasing each wave as it recedes and retreating from each incoming wave. The Hawaiian name for this sanderling, hunakai, means sea foam.

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Uploaded on November 22, 2025
Taken on October 22, 2025