A buff-breasted sandpiper has just been seen from Makepeace hide on the reserve. There's only been 3 records of it on Dungeness before, the last was 5 years ago!
Image: Buff-breasted sandpiper (US Fish and Wildlife Service)
This small, attractive bird has a long, straight bill and greenish-yellow legs. The sexes are alike in colouration; both have a pale brown body elegantly spotted with black. The crown has fine streaks of black which extend down the hind neck and over the back to the tail, giving the appearance of overlapping black scales on the upperparts. Male buff-breasted sandpiper’s flash the bright white feathers underneath their wings to attract females.
It's usual home is North and South America, so it must have been blown a bit off course during its migration!