Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 2019-25
| Common name: |
Wandering Tattler |
| Scientific name: | Tringa incana |
| Date: | 08-28-2019 |
| Time: | 8:00am |
| Length of time observed: | 15 minutes |
| Number: | 1 |
| Age: | ? |
| Sex: | ? |
| Location: | Antelope Island Causeway |
| County: | Davis |
| Latilong: | 41.067057, -112.230305 |
| Elevation: | 4200ft |
| Distance to bird: | 10-50m |
| Optical equipment: | Nikon 10x42 binoculars |
| Weather: | sunny |
| Light Conditions: | good |
| Description: Size of bird: | 10 inches |
| (Description:) Basic Shape: | Typical shorebird |
| (Description:) Overall Pattern: | uniform slate grayish |
| (Description:) Bill Type: | long and straight |
|
(Description:)
Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics: |
As I was counting the Willets gathered at the bridge feeding, I noted a Tringa
with bright Yellow Legs mixed in with the Willets. It was uniformly slate gray
on the upperside, without any white in the wings or tail, and very smooth, not
scaled, barred, streaked or spotted like a Yellowlegs. It had a paler grayish
breast and belly, and prominent supercilium and dark eyeline and a long straight
bill. Additionally, as it walked among the rocks it would teeter like a Spotted
Sandpiper, though not as often or dramatically. (see photos) |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | None heard |
| Behavior: | Feeding on brineflies and preening on rocks |
| Habitat: | Rocks of causeway on the shore of the Great Salt Lake |
| Similar
species and
how were they eliminated: |
Willet-direct comparison, much larger with much longer gray legs and overall a
paler shade of gray, and prominent black and white wings and tail Greater Yellowlegs-different structure with longer legs and more slender with longer neck with more upright posture, bill not as thick and stout. Prominent barring, scaling, streaking and spotting in plumage, contrasting whitish rump, unlike this bird Gray-tailed Tattler-mostly by range, but also apparently paler, especially on the underside, with a higher contrast supercilium and often some pinkish in the bill base |
| Previous
experience with this & similar species: |
None with any Tattlers, I've seen many thousands of Willets and Yellowlegs |
| References consulted: | eBird, Audubon 'Birds of North America' app |
| Description from: | From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting |
| Observer: | Bryant Olsen |
| Observer's address: | 84102 |
| Observer's e-mail address: | ** |
| Other observers who independently identified this bird: | many |
| Date prepared: | 08-28-19 |
| Additional material: | Photos |
| Additional comments: | eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59334408 |