Spotted on Cramond seafront during low tide. I believe these are Sanderlings but am not sure as have never seen one before...
They look to be Dunlin in my opinion.
Although of similar size, Sanderling are much 'cleaner' and brighter looking birds at this time of year, with little to no markings around the throat & chest areas. I've added a comparison shot to help show the differences. Both birds were photographed in December of last year.
If you are at Cramond, a trip further east to Aberlady Bay (out on the beach at the dunes) will very often find Sanderling at this time of year. If you take your time they can actually be very approachable little birds.
I hope this may be of help. :-)
Thanks very much for both your answers, Paul :)
I'm with Paul on this look more like Dunlin to me too. Although not visible from a still photo Sanderling seem to have a different way pf moving to Dunlin,more like a clockwork mouse, which can help distinguish them on the ground.