The summer sun had protested against the oncoming autumn, warming the air until the waders at Burwell fen shimmered in the heat as they probed along the muddy edge. Amongst the lapwing and ruff, a few dunlin waded chest deep while a little stint patrolled the shallow. Between them, a pectoral sandpiper ran nervously from one end of the mud-bar to the other, quicker than the larger ruff, but bearing a striking similarity that in the haze made it important to look out for the neat braces down its back to ensure correct identification.
These small waders have become a fairly frequent visitor to our shores as their breeding range has expanded along the siberian north, and are now as expected as the green and wood sandpipers that breed in scandinavia.