Buff-breasted Sandpiper

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Buff-breasted Sandpiper in the UK

Buff-breasted Sandpiper is a regular but scarce visitor from North America and one of the commoner American waders here. The first British record was in Cambridgeshire in 1826. It was dropped from the national rarities list in 1983. About 1,250 were recorded in Britain between 1958 and 2018, including 32 in 2018. Most are juveniles in autumn, with a peak in September and a very few in spring. The largest arrival was in late September 2011, when perhaps 60 reached Britain and Ireland. It is listed as Near Threatened globally.

Where and when to see a Buff-breasted Sandpiper

September, with a few from mid-August and into October. South-west England gets the most. Davidstow Airfield in Cornwall and the airfield and golf course on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, are classic sites. Check any short, dry grass near the coast: airfields, golf courses, grazed fields and the dry edges of pools. It often joins Golden Plover or Ringed Plover flocks. Arrivals follow fast-moving Atlantic depressions. Birds are often tame and can stay several days.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Short grass (autumn passage).
Diet: Insects.
Field note: Slender; dove-like head.

How to identify a Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Between a Dunlin and a Ruff in size, and shaped like a tiny, neat Ruff. The whole face and underparts are warm buff, fading towards the belly. The face is plain, with a round head and a beady black eye. The bill is short, fine and dark. The legs are bright yellow-ochre. Upperparts are dark with neat pale fringes, giving a scaly look. It walks with a high-stepping, plover-like gait on dry ground. In flight there is no wing-bar and no white on the rump, and the underwing is gleaming white.

Call and song

Usually silent, which is typical of the species on migration. A bird that is flushed may give a quiet, low, dry 'prreet' as it goes. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Ruff: A juvenile Ruff is also buff and scaly but is larger and longer-necked with a longer bill and white ovals on the sides of the tail in flight.
• Pectoral Sandpiper: Pectoral has a heavily streaked breast that ends in a sharp line against a white belly.

Month by month

Numbers peak in May. See the May birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Buff-breasted Sandpiper is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Where to see it

Reserves where the Buff-breasted Sandpiper is on the list:

• Isles of Scilly

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Curlew SandpiperRare · Estuaries (autumn passage)
• Little StintRare · Estuaries (autumn passage)
• Pectoral SandpiperRare · Wet meadows (autumn passage)
• White-rumped SandpiperRare · Wet mud (autumn passage)
• Temminck's StintRare · Pools (rare passage)
• Baird's SandpiperEpic · Pools

Buff-breasted Sandpiper: quick answers

Has a Buff-breasted Sandpiper ever been seen in the UK?

Yes, every year. It has been recorded here since 1826 and is now expected each autumn in small numbers. A typical bird is a juvenile on its first migration, carried across the Atlantic by a weather system.

When is the best time to see Buff-breasted Sandpiper?

The middle two weeks of September. Watch for westerly gales in the forecast, then check short-grass sites in the south-west and on western coasts and islands over the following days.

What habitat does a Buff-breasted Sandpiper live in?

Dry ground with very short vegetation. It nests on Arctic tundra in North America and winters on the grasslands of South America. In Britain it picks the closest match, which is why so many are found on airfields and golf courses and not on mud.

Kit that helps

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