Sutton Bingham - Sat 3 Sep

A late morning visit on the way back from grocery shopping in Yeovil turned out to be an inspired decision. Due to the presence of sailors at the northern end I made straight for the southern end thinking that the growing patch of mud may be worth checking, and it certainly was. There were a few waders knocking around including a Green Sandpiper and seven Common Sandpipers. I also located a single Dunlin before finding a slightly larger wader that piqued my interest immediately. Despite the distance of the bird I was soon able to pick out the key features, a bill that was slightly decurved, a noticeable supercilium, pale underside but a dark breast...with a very distinct border between the two, it could only be a Pectoral Sandpiper! It was distant but I still tried to get some sort of record shot, this was the best I could manage:

I watched it for about half an hour during which it spent prolonged periods out of view feeding, which it seemed to be doing constantly. By midday the rain was starting to fall more heavily and I was getting soaked, so I headed off. A few birders looked for it later in the day, but unfortunately it was not seen again so I can only presume the rain pushed it on.