Country diary: dazzled by the dance of the sanderlings

Tyrella Beach, County Down: Running back and forth as the waves come ashore, the wading birds may look comical, but it’s all part of their clever feeding strategy Those dots of waders will be kettled up the beach as the tide rises, but my time is short. So I hoist the scope and set off into an early morning sun that’s gauzed by a membrane of cloud. In front of me, the ribbed sand stretches into a haze of silver and taupe. The sea is so far out that it could be a mirage. To the south-