On 28 August 1988, while birding at Carmel River State Beach, Monterey County, California (36°32' N, 121°57' W), we discovered an adult Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus). We watched this Eurasian vagrant between 1110 and 1135 PDT; we saw it again, along with local birders, between 1215 and 1240 as it foraged on the open beach. Wilson observed the bird a third time on 5 September 1988 between 1000 and 1130; others saw it regularly until 23 September 1988.