Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Red Phalarope
Scientific name:	Phalaropus fulicarius
Date:	October 18, 2024
Time:	2:15 p.m.
Length of time observed:	45 minutes
Number:	1
Age:	Juvenile
Sex:	Unknown
Location:	Location: Farmington Bay WMA
County:	Davis
Latilong:	~40.955671 -111.935158
Elevation:	4,203
Distance to bird:	30 yards
Optical equipment:	8 x 42 bins, 85 mm scope w/20-60x zoom eyepiece
Weather:	Blustery, bright, 50's or 60's
Light Conditions:	Bright but harsh because I was northeast of the bird looking into the southwest light and the bird was basically swimming on a mirror.
Description: Size of bird:	Maybe 1/3 or less as big as American Avocets present
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Like a crescent with one side (the neck and head) longer and taller
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Generally gray and white with some black accents on head and diffuse brownish neck
(Description:) Bill Type:	Thin and needle-like
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Size was almost small enough so the bird could have swum under an avocet without touching. Thin black bill just longer than the head from front-to-back of head. Bill noticeably wider at the base. Pale base of lower mandible either not present or not visible due to the bird's constant movement and poor lighting. White forehead, cheeks and supercillia. White blotch on top of crown. Lateral to the white blotch were blackish irregular stripes that proceeded aft, came together at the back of the head and became a thin black neck-stripe down the back of the neck. Black oblong feathering encompassed each black eye forming the phalarope mark. Uniformly gray upperparts with two exceptions: There was some blackish speckling at the base of the hind-neck, and many of the gray feathers had a dark vein. Black wing tips with narrow golden-buff edging. Wingtips ended just short of the tail. Fore-neck dilute brownish from base of the bill almost down to upper breast and the color wa s visible from a great distance (450 yards). White underparts. White side feathers with a dark vein overlapped the lower edge of wing. The bird seemed to sit high in the water with a very upright posture and sturdy neck. Three features seemed to indicate this bird was a juvenile not completely transitioned to first basic plumage, or simply retaining juvenile feathers: the dilute brownish neck, the dark speckling on the gray upper-parts at the base of the hind-neck, and the narrow golden-buff edges to what appeared to be the tertials. (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	None heard.
Behavior:	Swimming very actively in shallow water near foraging avocets and picking items from the surface. Some spinning; not much.
Habitat:	Shallow freshwater surface pond in an extensive marsh.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	From the Red-necked Phalarope, the only likely candidate due to the presence of the black phalarope marks encompassing each eye: Fairly uniform gray upperparts rather than blackish and gray-streaked upper parts; "tall" posture with sturdy, upright neck and high-keeled, high-tailed appearance; brownish neck plumage which juvenile Red-necks don't retain or it's faded to white by now. I think the photos portray the bill as thicker and sturdier than the Red-necked's very thin bill, but no Red-necks were present for comparison and so this is a judgement call.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	The bird in record 2006-59 submitted by Kimberly Roush; thousands of Red-necked annually.
References consulted:	Sibley, Macaulay Library, The Shorebird Guide
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Kristin Purdy
Observer's address:	Ogden, Utah
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	None
Date prepared:	October 18, 2024
Additional material:	Photos
Additional comments:	I actually saw this phalarope on the far side of the large surface water pond south of Egg Island while scoping from the dike road, and noted the phalarope-like size and behavior with a diffuse wash of brown on the bird's neck. Using Google Earth later and noting my track in my eBird checklist, the distance between the bird and me was about 450 yards, which is shocking to me that the color was visible from that far. While the bird was really out of scope range, I also either saw or hallucinated that the gray upperparts were fairly uniform, which caused me to return to the Egg Island parking area and walk out the 1/4 mile to confirm the ID.