Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Purple Gallinule
Scientific name:	Porphyrio martinica
Date:	September 27 2021
Time:	12:10 pm to 12:50 pm at location (first photo at 12:26 pm)
Length of time observed:	30 min
Number:	1
Age:	juvenile/immature
Sex:	unknown
Location:	Rockport Reservoir State Park
County:	Summit county
Latilong:	40.7705103, -111.4014088
Elevation:	5,400 feet (a similar elevation as the PUGA sighting at Jordanelle reservoir, 6188 feet elevation, in 2004)
Distance to bird:	Distances were recorded to shoreline and are an overestimation of the distance. Range finder would not measure the bird on the water. Measured 882 yards (806.54 meters) to shoreline of the area it was initially observed and 764 yards (698.6 meters) to the rock outcrop where it spent most of its time in front of. The bird was seen within these measurements. These are an overestimate of the distance. Based on these measurements, I estimate that it was at around 600-700 meters during the time of observation.
Optical equipment:	swarovski 65 mm spotting scope with 20-60x zoom, Zeiss 85 mm FL spotting scope with 20-60x zoom
Weather:	Clear, no wind, sunny
Light Conditions:	It was bright. We struggled with the angle of the lighting. The sun washed out the bird and/or caused excessive darkness. The light wing patch , described later and shown in all photos, was a big issue the entire time we observed the bird and caused a lot of confusion as we tried to determine if it was an artifact of light or the white side stripe of the COGA. Photos tend to show the bird dark and unlike what we saw in the field.
Description: Size of bird:	slightly smaller than AMCO
(Description:) Basic Shape:	similar in shape to AMCO
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	warm light brown with purple underwings
(Description:) Bill Type:	yellow/red triangular bill
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	We were hitting our 4th hour at Rockport, with no sighting of the SAGU that was recently spotted. I grew bored and started passing the time by watching a group of 20-30 AMCO at the reservoir inlet. It should be noted that the reservoir is really low and the inlet is just to the SE of where we are sitting. Almost immediately, I spotted a strange bird swimming with the group of AMCO s. It swam to the shoreline and started like it wanted to walk out of the water. It then changed its mind and swam with the group of AMCO farther into the lake towards the shoreline opposite of us (east). I got Beth on the bird and we proceeded to struggle with it for three reasons. 1- distance, 2- color/lighting, and 3- if I am honest, fear of posting such a rare find. We saw a juvenile/immature plumage gallinule with warm tones of light brown that contrasted with the cool grey tones of the AMCO. It was smaller and moved more elegantly than the coots. Even with the distance we never had issues picking it out of the group. It had some head bob when swimming without the jerkiness of the AMCO. It held its head/neck straight up with the bill pointed down in a graceful manner. Tail alert and erect between its wings that were laid flat on its back. The wings extended out beyond the erect tail. It had a large white triangular undertail covert. The coverts were entirely white with no central dark spot observed. It never dived but preferred to pick items off the surface of the water. With the distance and lighting, the bill color was hard to determine. We could see the bill was not white like the AMCO s. Every phase of an AMCO would show a lighter bill color than the body but this bird's bill seemed to blend in with the plumage with no contrast against the plumage. We recognized this at the time of the ID and wrote about it in our ebird report. We felt the bill was yellow. Beth and I debated the ID going back and forth between a juvenile/immature COGA and PUGA. At one point, when Beth was referring to the guide app and I was watching the bird, it sat up in the water and flapped its wings for 5-10 seconds, showing the underside of the wings clearly as purple. I got 3-5 strong looks at this field mark as it flapped. As hard as it was this day to see anything regarding color, the purple underwings for whatever reason were shockingly purple. This field mark was not included in the ebird report as Beth submitted the report with her notes and she did not see this but also neither one of us realized that this is diagnostic for PUGA. The bird had a lighter patch on the wings. From my perspective, from the time of ID to now (I have an art background), this lighter patch was caused from the angle of the light. I felt this way at the time of the sighting then confirmed this feeling after going through the images. The light patch is too high on the wing to be the white side stripe of the COGA. The lighter wing patch was also seen on the AMCOs in similar patterns. This was noted on the day of sighting and in the images we took. AMCO s don't have a light wing patch and from my assessment neither does the mystery bird. The light patch would change and move based on the birds positioning towards the sun and the photos show this. On the day of this sighting, this lighter wing patch became confused with the white side stripe on the COGA and was what led to our misidentification of this bird as a COGA on our ebird posting. In the field we were using the sibley app for ID. Beth had been recording the birds we saw into ebird and so she made the submission. When I got home, that same day, I wrote an account of what I saw. I wanted my own record recorded as soon as possible before my memory faded or was changed with research and time. A habit I learned in an ornithology course at the University of Utah. The description above is based on these initial recordings (Beths ebird account and my notes) before our memories faded or became altered by our research. (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	none
Behavior:	This bird showed distinct behaviors that were noticeably different from the AMCOs seen in the same area. Both Beth and I wrote extensively about the behavior differences in our notes. We did so more than plumage and color as the behaviors were more definitive and easier to describe than the colors of the plumage and bill (due to the lighting). It was its behavior that gave me pause and caused me to initially notice the bird. These behaviors felt diagnostic and were also very difficult for me to describe as we dont, as birders, have the vocabulary for this kind of description. From my notes I stated, It moved differently on the water than the AMCO. It was more elegant than the coots. During the time of observation we said this to each other many times as we observed its movements. It did show some head bob when it swam but it was less jerky and less distinct than the AMCO s when swimming. It held its neck straight up with the head and bill pointed down . The head/neck pos itioning could be due to the fact that it also was constantly pecking at the surface of the water . The tail was held up in an alert position, not kinda erect but all the way up erect at a 90 degree angle. It held the tail up between its folded wings. The wings extended out beyond the tail . The wings were never held up over the back. It never dived . I was unable to find a video of PUGA swimming but I did find in Pete Dunes book he describes the COGA moves head with exaggerated jerks as it swims suggesting to me that a COGA would swim more similar to an AMCO. Pete also describes the PUGA as more fluid and more nimble than the COGA. Moves its head and neck in a sinuous way (not with the spastic jerkiness of the COGA). This second description, for me, matches what Beth and I saw behaviour wise in this mystery bird.
Habitat:	It was observed in open water on Rockport reservoir near no vegetation. Most of the time it was away from shoreline. The behavior of swimming in open water is strange for both COGA or PUGA. Very common behavior for an AMCO.From Pete Dune describing the COGA ``forages in open, however where surface vegetation is lush...well away from shore and when describing the PUGA it does not tend to swim in open areas carpeted with surface weeds (as does COGA) . Suggesting that the COGA is not likely to swim on open water without vegtative matter and neither would PUGA.I also want to point out that when one says does not tend to it can also mean that a stressed bird might choose different foraging methods. I was concerned by the habitat we found this bird in and did much research on this subject as a method to disprove its a Gallinule. Here are a few things I learned. PUGA s, I learned, are frequent vagrants. They tend to go well outside their normal range. This occurs especially in drought years with most records in the Northern Hemisphere occurring from April to November. The one other PUGA sighting in Utah occured in July in a similar elevation reservoir but different habitat as it was found in the wetlands below the dam. Many other sightings, in the states surrounding Utah, occur at lakes and reservoirs. All about birds states Purple Gallinules are remarkable fliers and turn up far out of their normal range surprisingly often...A recent study noted that these may not be mere accidents: years with severe drought in the gallinule s core range tended to produce more so-called vagrants in autumn and winter. In other words, these wanderers may not be lost but perhaps seeking places to feed because their usual haunts do not have adequate food. In August of 2002 a PUGA was seen in a residence area reservoir with little vegetation, in Loveland CO and it stayed for two weeks where it roosted in a pine tree at night. PUGA s seem to show up everywhere or anywhere near water. Where a wandering PUGA will put down seems to be anyone's guess. Rockport at the time of this sighting was hosting other rarities suggesting it was a great place for wandering birds to put down and find food. According to ebird, the COGA has not been seen in northern utah between the months of sept to Oct. All sightings between this time for COGA are near st. george. All data in ebird for utah (all months/years) shows COGA sightings are along I-15 and the west desert. This data suggests to me that the COGA would be as rare or more rare than the PUGA to be seen foraging in open water in this location at this time of year.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	When the ebird reviewer asked me to remove the sighting, his thinking was that we had misidentified a juvenile coot, I was humbled. I decided to pull the record and to use this experience as an opportunity to learn. I am a scientist by occupation and decided to use the scientific method to prove that this was indeed a juvenile coot. I did this with the idea that I would become better at identification and would be more prepared next time however I can't prove it's a juvenile coot. American Coot: Why I dont think its an AMCO The purple underwings I saw would not be observed on the AMCO The bill was yellow and maybe even red (see photo) at the top portion of the bill. The AMCO bill at all phases is a light grey to white that would have contrasted with the plumage. The bird we saw had extensive white (see photo) on the undertail coverts with no dark center stripe. It was too much white for AMCO. The white on the AMCO is small and limited to the sides of the undertail. It is less visible when swimming. The white on the undertail of the AMCO is so small that it may not have been visible at the distances we were at. No white was seen on any coot observed at the time this bird was seen. The bird we saw had a long wing tip projection beyond the tail. In all guides/ebird photos I observed, the wings of the AMCO do not project beyond the tail. The bird we saw held its tail up vertically at a 90 degree angle. In all guides/ebird photos I observed, the AMCO does not tend to hold its tail in this vertical upright position. I cant find images or references to these behaviors for AMCO. In 30 min of observation the bird did not dive while the AMCO s surrounding it were diving. A common behavior for the AMCO. Common Gallinule The more difficult distinction is between the Common Gallinule (COGA) and the purple Gallinule (PUGA). All the reasons listed below are why I don't think it is a COGA. The most defining reason is that this bird is not a COGA is the purple underwings that were observed. This would not be seen on a COGA. The bird I saw had distinctly purple underwings. The bird we observed had extensive white undertail coverts with no dark middle stripe. This extensive white undertail coverts with no dark center strip suggests PUGA. The COGA would have a center stripe and be less white overall. I did see a couple of photos on ebird where the white undertail of a COGA looked extensive without the dark center stripe based on the angle of the image or the bird's posture. However, the fact that we were looking for the dark middle strip at the time of sighting, the length of time we observed, the degree of white shown in our images and our lack of seeing the dark middle stripe all suggest PUGA. The white side flank/stripe was absent on the bird we saw. Sibley/ Pete Dunne say the side stripe of the COGA would be distinctive . I can find some photos on ebird with this stripe absent or hidden. However, we observed the bird for at least 30 min. It would be strange to have not seen this if it was present. The lighter wing patch, shown in the photos, should not be confused with the white side stripe of the COGA. If the white side stripe was thereI feel we would have seen it as we were looking for this ID mark in the field. Much of our focus was on this area, at the time of observation, as we were confused by the lighter wing patch and spent a lot of time trying to understand what it was. When swimming the wingtips of the COGA, according to Pete dune, jut above the tail giving it a more angular pointy posterior. We never saw this behavior from the bird while we observed it. The bird we saw swam with its tail at a 90 degree angle to the body with its wings projecting well behind the upturned tail. The bird's wings laid flat on the back (not above the back like a COGA- see 4). I have yet to find a COGA image of this behavior but I can find many images of the PUGA doing this behavior (although while standing, not swimming). This behavior suggests PUGA. The wing tip of the COGA doesn't tend to project well beyond the tail. There is some variation in wingtip length within each species. Generally though, the wingtips of the PUGA tend to project well beyond the tail and the COGA do not. Although not verbally described, the sibley guide visually shows the PUGA with longer wings than the COGA. After looking at hundreds of ebird photos I believe this suggests PUGA. Please note, older field guides do not show longer wings on the PUGA. Older guidebooks often used the same images for different species with different coloring. An older guide book may not show this field mark very well. I spent a lot of time trying to make the yellow and red bill seen in the photo into the yellow/red bill/ shield of the adult COGA even though the bird we saw was not an adult gallinule (if it was our ID would have been easy - I think). The photo that shows the red/yellow bill also appears darker like an adult. However I believe this is due to lighting. In the field I never saw the bird look like an adult gallinule. If considering only juvenile/immature (on ebird) in the months of Aug-Nov, the bill of the COGA would be more dull, small (with a large forehead), with little to no red and yellow compared to the juvenile/immature PUGA during the same time period. The bird we saw had a warm buffy brown color. Not the gray cooler color of an immature COGA. The immature COGA, according to Pete dune, should look cold grey similar to an AMCO. Please note that the color is hard to see in the photos we took. We never obtained a photo that shows the color well due to the distance, lighting, and poor camera. Most of our photos came out much darker than actual. The few we have that look lighter came from some video we took. A COGA would move its head in exaggerated jerks as it swims as described by Pete Dunne. This description suggests a COGA would move similar to an AMCO. The bird we saw however, swam distinctly different from the coots. More graceful. Please see previous descriptions for descriptions of the behaviors we saw. This difference suggests PUGA. A weak note perhaps should be given to the shape of the bill. The bill/head shape seems to change depending on the angle of the image in the photos and we did not feel we could see the bill well in the field as it blended into the plumage and/or was darkened or lightened due to the angle and brightness of the sun that day. In the photos the bill can look smaller or the head larger depending on the angle of the bird. Again this is so hard to see as the magnification and lighting flattened the image in the photos but it seems to me that the pictures lean towards a shape that is more triangular. A head that is smaller with little to no forehead projecting above the bill. This suggests PUGA to me. This seems most obvious in one photo where the bill and forehead of the AMCO is presented well and the gallinules bill appears triangular and the head small. but I am not sure how much weight to give this.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Twenty two years ago we (Beth and I), took an upper division ornithology course at the University of Utah where we were assigned to observe, record, then write a scientific level publication/report on the AMCO and our findings. Since then I, personally, have had a soft spot for this species of bird and often watch them. On this particular day, this is the reason I spotted the Gallinule. The gallinules behaviour was obviously non coot like to me. I do not have as much experience with gallinules. I have seen the PUGA twice. Both times in Florida in 2009 and again in 2011. I searched for the PUGA when it was sighted at Jordanelle reservoir in 2004 but did not see it. I have documented the COGA into ebird 13 times from 2005-2018
References consulted:	Sibley second edition, Sibley app Pete dunes essential field guide companion copyright 2006 Ebird for photos and historical data
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Angie Branch
Observer's address:	3111 E BELL CANYON RD, SANDY
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Beth Jewkes
Date prepared:	12/29/2021
Additional material:	Photos
Additional comments:	This has been such a rewarding and educational experience for me no matter the outcome. I appreciate your time and comments on this. Thank you