Usually buff-breasted sandpipers are late migrants here, much later in the month. But the reports of adults from the central flyway (Minnesota [in the intriguingly-named Yellow Medicine County]), Arkansas, Missouri, and even Ontario over the last couple of days signal a fairly early migration. These are likely adult males, who having made their minor but vital contribution to the species, are heading south. The females will follow them soon, abandoning the young, who will be on their own, departing still later. These young birds will stray on their first migration, and regularly appear as far east as Ohio by mid-August. They are not all that fond of wetlands, and are most often seen in grassy areas: sod farms here are a favorite place to see them. I recall we had a shin-dig about shorebirds at Maumee Bay State Park ten Augusts ago, when quite a few of these birds conveniently chose to forage for a week or two on the islands of moved grass in the parking lot, snarfing moths. One bird, dubbed "Groucho" because of a decidedly droopy bill, hung around for nineteen days, and became the topic of an interesting article by Brian Zweibel (Ohio Cardinal 29(1):35-37...back issues of the Cardinal may be read at http://www.ohiobirds.org/site/publications/cardinal/archiveissues.php ). Anyway, while this species is not yet super-rare, it is often among the shorebirds missed by observers because of its fairly late schedule and its preferred migratory habitat. Look in short grass for its distinctively cute head profile and color in plowed fields or turf farms in a week or two. Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]