Wandering Tattler

[bcurrie100 at comcast dot net]

Hello all,

Well, I felt sure I had no hope of seeing this bird.  I missed the Ruddy Turnstone and the Curlew Sandpiper, despite several attempts to locate both (and don't even talk to me about the Ovenbird). ; )

However, after seeing the post today I thought I had better head out.  I arrived at the previously discussed location of about 25 meters before the bridge closest to the island. I arrived there at about 6:40 PM.  Nothing.  I scanned and scanned, drove to the island and back and nothing.  I was very meticulous in my scanning because I know this bird can basically look like a rock with a bill when it is hunkered down.  It was about 7:15 PM and it was getting dark and the chances of seeing a charcoal colored bird with some significant cloud cover were being significantly lowered every minute.  I decided to make one last scan.  Still nothing at the reported area.  I looked back to the bridge, immediately north where the water flows through it.  There was a BN Stilt that was obvious, and then there it was, the WANDERING TATTLER feeding on the rocks that border the water.  I drove closer to confirm since I was at some distance before.  Sure enough.  As I was moving to a better position a car drove up on the opposite side of the rode and the BN Stilt flew along with the few gulls that were there.  I thought for sure so had the Tattler, but it was still there.  I continued to observe for another 35 minutes.  The whole time it was foraging in this area.  To be clear, if you are standing on the bridge directly over where the water goes through to the south side, looking north, it was on the rocks that are to your left.  The area where the rocks curve around and begin to head west again.  It lifted it wings once and they were clearly gray underneath.  It did a lot of tail bobbing, which Kaufmann describes as "teetering," and that is very reminiscent of a Spotted Sandpiper. Trust me it was not teetering, it was tail bobbing.  However, this bird is obviously larger, has the gray chest depicted so well in Tim's photos (a big thanks for those by the way), and the gray wings underneath, not to mention the gray back and longer bill.  Not that there is a whole lot of difference, but this may be a juvenile bird as depicted!
  in Sibl

ey as I did not see any of the slight barring that he shows.  It looked like all gray flanks, but it was getting dark so that would have been the easiest thing to miss.

Finally.

Brian

P.S. As next weekend gets closer if people are still seeing the Jaeger please post as that would be the soonest I could get up there.
_______________________________________________

"Utah Birds" web site: http://www.utahbirds.org
     Birdnet:
To subscribe, e-mail:  birdnet-subscribe@utahbirds.org
To unsubscribe, e-mail:  birdnet-unsubscribe@utahbirds.org
To send a message, e-mail:  birdnet@utahbirds.org
_________________________________________________