Most shorebirds are very tame and I'm sure you know, that if you just sit still on the ground, they will walk right up to you. So the Buff-breasted, although rare to my area, was so close I had to take off my extender for a short time. Most likely a first year bird, with no prior human contact, but hung out at one of our busiest lake shore parks and was very tame. The majority of the others were at a sod farm, where they were between 75'-300'. So it really helps to have the 840mm! It's really tough shooting, because you're constantly fighting heat waves. I was surprised the Upland Sandpiper photos turned out at all, it was hot and humid and distortion was vey high. You can see it in the photos, but a few turned out ok. He was quite far away from the road, at least 75yds at all times Those things just destroy photos! I think we were rather lucky this year at the sod farm, because they turned over a few spots closer to the road. It's a country highway, with light traffic, so I just pull my truck over and shoot from drivers seat.