Dave Powell wrote:

Hi Everyone,

"Clive Harris just called and reported a Upland and Buff-breasted Sandpiper at the polo grounds on Hughes Road."


I was actually out at the polo grounds twice today.  First time around 1 
pm and unaware of Clive's post through Dave Powell regarding the 
Buff-breasted and Upland SP.  I did see the Buff-breasted but did not 
see the Upland and did not know to look for it. I went back around 4 pm 
to try for the Upland and found a shorebird larger and fatter looking 
than the nearby Killdeer.  Through the rain, wind and wet spotting 
scope, the only features that matched an Upland (to me anyhow) were its 
bill color. Its neck seemed to be retracted the whole time that I viewed 
it and it was much buffier (a wet plumage effect?) with a dark forehead 
and partial cap that did not extend all the way to back of the head. I 
called Jim Green at one point because I actually thought I might have a 
juvenile Ruff but after I described it to him he thought it was the same 
bird he had seen about noon.  Most field guides seem to show Upland's 
only with the neck extended, however there's a good match for what I 
observed (at least posture-wise) on the top left of page 106 in Michael 
O'brien's shorebird book.  Bob Mumford stopped by and took a look 
through my scope, and he has since emailed me that he did not feel 
comfortable that it was an Upland and that possibly it was a Ruff.  I 
hope the same bird is still there tomorrow morning.

The Buff-breasted was still present at 4pm, along with a couple of peeps 
that I think were Least's (again rain and distance made an id 
difficult), and an oddly plumaged Killdeer with a darker than normal 
head and breast.

Also saw the Ruddy Turnstone at Lake Needwood.  I'm glad I ran into Rob 
Hilton who quickly pointed me to the location of the bird.

What a day!

Andy Martin
Gaithersburg






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