[Birdnet] SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER @ AIC

[Tim Avery]

This afternoon at 12:30 I was working my way west along the causeway and was
several hundred yards east of the first bridge when a flock of Dowitchers flew
by with what looked like a Pectoral Sandpiper in tow.  I watched where the
birds landed, which was at the bridge about 65 yards to the north.  I made my
way to the bridge and got out my scope to take a look.  I soon found that there
were two PECTORAL SANDPIPER with the flock as well as a single DUNLIN.  After
digiscoping some distant, and dark shots, I started to pack up when a flock of
12 BONAPARTE'S GULL came flying over the causeway from the south, landing on
the tip of the mud flat jutting out from the causeway.  As I followed the birds
to land in my binocs, I caught another Pectoral in the corner and to my shock a
very bright sandpiper that looked to be a juvenile SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER.  I
set my scope down again, and took a quick look.  Dark rufous cap, pale and
contrasting supercillium, buffy orange wash over the breast, and a lot of
rufous in the wings.  Definitely not a Pec.  I hurried and grabbed my point and
shoot and snapped off a shot at 1x, to make sure I got something.  As I
struggled to up the magnification, the birds took flight as the jets from Hill
passed over (as they did most of the afternoon).  I opted to follow the birds,
which had bunched up with the dowitchers, and other pecs.  They headed west
about 100 yards then veered south over the causeway.  I followed them for a
couple hundred yards till I lost sight of them in the rain.

http://timaverybirding.com/photos/octo07/stsa_01.jpg
(Pec on the left, Sharp-tailed on the right)

I called Kris Purdy, as well as the Sommerfeld's hoping to get some more eyes
out to look some more, hoping the bird may work its way back, as many of the
brids that flew off, were starting to filter back in.  I soon found 2 Pectoral
Sandpiper again, now about 250 yards west of the first bridge.  Kris showed up
shortly thereafter, and then the Sommerfeld's.  We spent the next 3 hours
scouring through hundreds if not 1,000's of shorebirds that were still using
the causeway (is it really October 13th?).  Carol Gwynn also joined us after
3pm as Kris was leaving.  The Sharp-tailed never reappeared, but a number of
other good shorebirds were seen:

  11 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER (conservative estimate - all juv's)
 250 Black-bellied Plover
  15 PECTORAL SANDPIPER (again conservative - 1 flock of 9 birds)
     http://timaverybirding.com/photos/octo07/pesa_01.jpg
     http://timaverybirding.com/photos/octo07/pesa_02.jpg
   1 DUNLIN (not seen later)
  30 Baird's Sandpiper
  10 Western Sandpiper
   9 Least Sandpiper
   8 Willet
   5 Marbled Godwit
   6 Black-necked Stilt
300~ Killdeer (probably an underestimate)
1500 Long-billed Dowitcher
   2 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER

All birds were observed to the east of MM4, and most were seen directly north of
the first bridge.  And to think, I was getting ready to put the shorebird books
away for the winter!

Cheers

Tim
Salt Lake City, UT
tanager at timaverybirding.com
http://www.timaverybirding.com
http://www.timavery.com