Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Sprague's Pipit
Scientific name:	[Antuhs spraguei]
Date:	4-19-2024
Time:	8:15am
Length of time observed:
Number:	1
Age:
Sex:
Location:	Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve
County:	Salt Lake County
Latilong:
Elevation:
Distance to bird:	15 ft at the minimum, 50-100 ft at the furthest
Optical equipment:	Binoculars
Weather:	Clear
Light Conditions:	Partly cloudy
Description: Size of bird:	Medium-sized passerine
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Passerine
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Dull gray/tan
(Description:) Bill Type:
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	While scoping out for an upcoming shorebird survey, I got eyes on a low and slow flying bird before it began to vocalize and couldn't immediately ID it. A dull grayish/tan-ish bird with white rectrices and a streaky breast was what I first noticed, so AMPI seemed like the closest fit, although their breast streaks are much less noticeable in flight. As it got closer I ruled out AMPI due to the unique flight style and totally different wing and tail shape, quite unlike all the other Pipits I observed that day. Wings held cocked back somewhat, with a broad and almost trapezoid like shape, somewhat reminiscent of the shape taken by longspurs during their flight displays, and somewhat like the wing shape of a meadowlark. Fluttery wing beats without any obvious arc or dip to its flight, and a uniquely stocky build with a short fat tail (as opposed to the longer thinner tail of AMPI in flight) Silhouette almost resembled a colorless WEMA more so than AMPI (which it obviou sly wasn't.) Before it vocalized, I hadn't considered SPPI. It sounds silly, but recordings of SPPI calls play in the background of a video game I like, and it's a call that I've studied last year and this year in hopes of finding a vagrant, so I am definitely familiar with the song. It gave a one-time rendition of it's flight song: a raspy, jumbled series of phrases that gradually lowered in pitch, almost like a mix of CANW and HOLA, which I definitely recognized immediately and made the rest of the field marks make sense. By the time it vocalized, it had already flown over me and was moving away. I could not find it in my camera's viewfinder before it disappeared. Spent another hour combing through the field it was flying towards hoping to flush the bird without any luck.
Song or call & method of delivery:	Briefly gave the instantly recognizable flight song, which is a jumbled, but somewhat crisp series of phrases that gradually decrease in pitch. Quite like many other prairie birds in total quality, such as longspurs and Horned Larks.
Behavior:	Flying from in front of me to directly behind me. Distinctive flight style with uniquely held-back wings
Habitat:
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Horned Lark: Also has white in the tail, but has a clean breast. American Pipit: Also a pipit, with breast markings, but much duller and less well-defined than the breast of this bird. American Pipit tails are also longer and thinner, with their wings held in a very different position. Longspurs: No species of longspur has similarly crisp breast streaking. Western Meadowlark: Much stockier in build, much more unique in overall patterning and coloration.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Extensive experience with Horned Lark, American Pipit, and Western Meadowlark. A fair amount of experience with 3 species of longspurs, in breeding and non-breeding plumage, on breeding grounds and wintering grounds. Some experience with Sprague's Pipits, having observed them on their breeding grounds in Montana. The GISS of their flight style and overall shape of the bird is quite unique, and I feel fairly confident in recognizing it from my own experience with this species in flight. Extensive experience with their vocalizations, having studied them quite a lot and hearing recordings of them somewhat regularly.
References consulted:	Sibley, Macaulay
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Quinn Diaz
Observer's address:
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:
Date prepared:	4-19-2024
Additional material:	After I spent about 15 minutes re-looking for the bird, I paused my search to write these notes while the event was still fresh in my mind and in the order I noticed these field marks before resuming my search.
Additional comments:	I understand the difficulty in accepting a record without evidence, but I have seldom been more confident in an ID of a rarity. I will be visiting this site again twice in the next 7 days and intend to put more effort into refinding and documenting this rarity.