An example is the report of 250 Sanderlings on 21 July 1973 in Berrien County. The Sanderling is a common spring migrant and abundant fall migrant. In spring, a few birds may be present as early as the first week of May, but migration peaks in the last week of May and the first week of June. An exceptionally early bird was seen on 13 April 1986. Numbers vary considerably from year to year Since 1982, the highest seasonal total was 148 in 1998 and the lowest 11 in 1982.
Most birds encountered in spring are in breeding plumage.
Fall migrants, consisting mainly of molting adult birds, arrive in July and peak in early to mid-August. Juvenile birds appear in late August, and numbers remain high throughout September. In October their numbers diminish and by November Sanderlings are uncommon. Occasionally, large totals have been recorded, such as 81 counted on 26 September 1992. The latest recorded date of Sanderlings at Whitefish Point is 17 November 1989, but this is near the end of the Waterbird Count, thus it is possible that Sanderlings may remain at Whitefish Point later than mid-November.