Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Red Phalarope
Scientific name:	Phalaropus fulicarius
Date:	October 29, 2024
Time:	10 a.m.
Length of time observed:	25 minutes
Number:	1
Age:	Adult
Sex:	Unknown
Location:	Antelope Island Causeway
County:	Davis
Latilong:	41.086674 -112.190015
Elevation:	4,206
Distance to bird:	125 yards
Optical equipment:	8 x 42 binoculars, 85 mm scope w/20-60x zoom eyepiece
Weather:	Terrible. 42 degrees; strong and gusty northerly winds
Light Conditions:	Poor; overcast with heavy gray skies
Description: Size of bird:	Larger than a peep; smaller than dowitchers
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Like a crescent with one side (the neck and head) longer and taller
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	White and gray with black head accents
(Description:) Bill Type:	Thin and needle-like
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Thin black bill slightly thicker at base; visible live and in photos. Mostly white face; all-white neck and under-parts. Black oblong mark covering eye. Black lateral crown stripes starting mid-crown to at least top of nape; not visible farther aft due to face-first orientation to me. Gray, fairly uniform upper-parts lacking blackish feathers or pale edge. Neck and head often in upright posture despite the strong winds. I was able to watch this bird extensively in the scope and see the features mentioned above, despite the fact that the features aren't captured well in the images. (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	None heard.
Behavior:	Walking on mudflats south of the causeway facing north and picking at surface items with many other birds. Associated especially, but loosely with a dowitcher flock that flushed at least 10 times with the phalarope always visible again along the edge of the flock when they re-settled. Once, the bird flattened itself to the mudflat due to a predator scare.
Habitat:	Mudflats of a large saline lake.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Red-necked Phalarope: The review bird showed fairly uniform gray upper-parts and a bill base thicker than the uniformly thin Red-necked bill. This is a judgement call since no Red-necks were present for comparison. No other species compares, realistically, due to the review bird showing the black phalarope mark encompassing the eye.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Two previous to this sighting; thousands of Red-necked annually.
References consulted:	Sibley, Macaulay Library
Description from:	From memory From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Kristin Purdy
Observer's address:	Ogden
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	None
Date prepared:	November 11, 2024
Additional material:	Photos
Additional comments:	I've hesitated to submit this record because the distance from the bird and the poor weather conditions yielded terrible photos that might be misleading due to light distortions or cropping. The winds were so strong that most of the shorebirds had moved from the north side of the causeway on the previous balmy day to the south side, ostensibly because the causeway itself offered some slim protection from the wind. But that also meant all the birds were facing north where I was cowering inside my vehicle, and not likely to pose in a profile and be hit broadside with the wind.