BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER

The rare little Broad-billed Sandpiper is particularly unusual in being a northern-breeding wader which breeds in Europe (Scandinavia), yet is considerably rarer in the UK than some North American waders. Birds in May and June are regarded as spring migrants and from July to September as autumn birds! So, if one turns up this month, it is probably returning to the wintering grounds. Most (of the very few) are found in the east of the country. Broad-billed Sandpipers are notably smaller than Dunlins (though larger than stints) with similarly long bills with a slight kink down at the tip. The head has distinctive stripes, with a ‘split supercilium’ of pale stripes above the eye. They are dark and streaky, with white bellies and, of course, never the black belly of a Dunlin.