While in Mayo yesterday 25th October 2011, the Upland Sandpiper appeared from his hiding place in the corner of a rushy field giving us distant but prolonged views in the dull conditions. This rare North American vagrant was not so tame and ran into cover like a Pheasant if anyone walked the nearby roadside. It was my first time ever encountering this species and he really looked like a cross between a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Whimbrel.
