Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Long-tailed Jaeger
Scientific name:	Stercorarius Longicaudus
Date:	September 6, 2024
Time:	10:07 AM
Length of time observed:	10 minutes
Number:	1
Age:	Juvenile
Sex:	Unknown
Location:	Shoreline of the Great Salt Lake at Lee Creek
County:	Salt Lake
Latilong:	40.793193,-112.160139
Elevation:	4206 feet
Distance to bird:	It varied from 20 yards to 100 yards
Optical equipment:	Vortex Razor Scope, Zen Ray 8 x 43 binoculars. Cameras used were a Sony Alpha 9 and a Nikon D850
Weather:	Sunny, clear, calm winds, and temperatures in the upper 70’s.
Light Conditions:	morning light, bright, no cloud cover.
Description: Size of bird:
(Description:) Basic Shape:
(Description:) Overall Pattern:
(Description:) Bill Type:
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	There were two jaegers present that we watched. One was a Parasitic, and the other was a Long-tailed Jaeger. Connor Johnson has submitted a record for the Parasitic at this location, so I’m going to describe the Long-tailed Jaeger that we saw. We were lucky to have the two birds sitting next to each other for comparison. The Long-tailed was smaller than the Parasitic that it was perched next to. The Long-tailed appears to be an immature bird that is an intermediate morph that was brown, and no rufous tones were noted in flight or perched. In flight it had a paler nape that gave the top of the head a darker tone. The head size was proportionate to the body, unlike the Parasitic it was next to. The bill was shorter than the Parasitic it was next to, and the bill was bi-colored with the nail of the bill that was dark giving an appearance of it taking up half of the bill. It also has two or three pale primary shaft feathers, which favors a Long-tailed. The underwing flash appears to show a notch in the primaries. On the underside of the bird it had a white belly with barred under tail coverts that appeared to be dark and white. The underwing was mottled dark and white also. The views of the central retrices weren’t obvious but it did have central retrices that did extend beyond the other tail feathers. It wasn’t obvious if they were rounded, or pointed. The legs appeared to be dark also. It was super helpful to note the smaller size in comparison to the Parasitic it was next to. (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	We did not hear any calls made specifically by the Jaegers
Behavior:	Three of us walked out to the shore of the Great Salt Lake at the Lee Creek Nature Area trail. We were there to look for the Parasitic Jaeger that had been seen by Connor Johnson and others. We walked out to where Lee Creek enters the Great Salt Lake and found a gull flock, hoping for it to arrive. Esther had been communicating with Connie Misket and she sent her a message about 15 minutes after we started walking that she had the Jaeger. We arrived to the shore and were told that the Jaeger she was watching chase gulls had left. We stuck around in the area looking around different gull flocks waiting for it to arrive. Finally after two hours at the mouth of Lee Creek I saw a Jaeger chasing gulls. I alerted Esther and Matt of the presence of the bird, and they started to take photos. We watched as a Jaeger was flying around the gull flock chasing them until it started to descend to go land on the beach. Matt quickly alerted us as he looked at his photos that there were actually two Jaegers in the same frame of his photos. As I scoped to where the Jaeger landed I noticed that there were two Jaegers sitting right where Lee Creek entered The Great Salt Lake. We then got within 20 yards to look at features, and photograph the birds. After 7 to 8 minutes, the birds picked up and flew off towards Stansbury Island. They flew for a great distance before they finally landed on the Great Salt Lake, possibly a half mile off shore. We scoped them, but we couldn’t get great identifying looks from that distance.
Habitat:	Sand beach of the Great Salt Lake and the Great Salt Lake
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	The two similar species would be the Pomeraine and the Parasitic Jaegers. Pomeraine Jaegers: One big strike against a Pomeraine Jaeger is timing. Juvenile Pomeraine Jaegers are late migrants. Early September for a juvenile to show up in Utah would be extremely rare. Also the size of this bird being smaller than the Parasitic it is standing next to would also eliminate the Pomeraine Jaeger. The pale nape, the lack of dark lores, and the head shape point away. The few pale primary shafts points away from a Pomeraine, as a Pomeraine has an extensive number of pale primary shafts in comparison. The underwing flash with the notch on the primary feathers is more indicative of a Long-tailed over a Pomeraine. Also half of the bi-colored bill being black is more indicative of a Long-tailed. Parasitic Jaegers: It appears to be standing next to a Parasitic and the side by side head shape is a great way to show the difference between a Parasitic and Long-tailed. A Parasitic has a smaller and disproportionate head compared to a Long-tailed, and is in the shape of a triangle almost. The bill shape and size is longer, and the nail of the bill only takes up about a third of the bill. The underwing flash on the Parasitic usually doesn’t show a notch, as this bird does. Also the number of pale primary shafts is too few for a typical Parasitic Jaeger. Also a Parasitic can show rufous tones which were not noted on this bird.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	I’ve seen an adult Long-tailed Jaeger. The others have not seen a Long-tailed Jaeger. We all saw a Parasitic Jaeger that day with the Long-tailed.
References consulted:	Sibleys, National Geographic, Oceanic Birds of The World, Julian Hough Webinar, Cameron Cox
Description from:	memory, discussions with each other, and from photos, along with texts sent about the bird.
Observer:	KC Childs
Observer's address:	Orem, UT
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Esther Sumner, Matt Hoecherl
Date prepared:	September 7, 2024
Additional material:	Photos and ebird link.
Additional comments: