Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata Blacktoft Sands, RSPB, September 25th 2023

An unexpected twitch to see this adult. An adult found at the same site on September 17th 1982 had disappeared the following day so I decided to check North Killingholme pits, my regular wader hotspot of the time, in the hope that it would have relocated there but of course such events never happen - but in this instance it did and following my find it stayed for three days and caused a major twitch amongst British birders at the time. Surprisingly small this bird was no bigger than a Curlew sandpiper and was presumably a female.