Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 7:46 am, sunset 7:56 pm for a total day length of 12 hours and 10 minutes, (a day past Fall Equinox). Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 25 seconds shorter.
A brisk north wind whisked away the rain, squalls, and most of the clouds, ushering in a beautiful, sunny fall day. Temps ranged from a low of 41 to a midafternoon high of 55. This welcome respite is forecast to be short-lived as rain returns late tonight through the next week.
I headed out to Afognak Beach this afternoon just after the tide turned and began to reveal the tidelands. Sloshing along through the remnants of ocean, I happened to notice two shorebirds with yellow legs, one much taller, feeding around a freshly exposed stump near shore. One was a late GREATER YELLOWLEGS, the other, a much smaller and notably pale TATTLER. Take photos first, and ask questions later is always a good idea, so I did.
I continued my walk, following the tide out, distracted by two adult TRUMPETER SWANS paddling along the shore, and a pair of photogenic BALD EAGLES perched on the sand.
Eventually my curiosity directed me to do a bit more research. I pulled up Wandering Tattler on my phone app, and then compared it to the GRAY-TAILED TATTLER. It sure resembled the latter in non-breeding plumage, or possibly a juvenile due to some white spots on upperparts: a plain gray breast, white flanks, and a dark eye-stripe running to the bill topped with a long white eyebrow. When it finally flew, the flight call “klee-klee” was a perfect match to the flight call in iBird Plus.
The catastrophic storms over western Alaska could have delivered this uncommon and tough shorebird to Seward, far from its Asian home. It looked alert and healthy, and likely very pleased to have found the Greater Yellowlegs for company. One never knows what might blow in next!
Check out this excellent site comparing the two tattlers with lots of photos and vocalizations: https://birdfinding.info/gray-tailed-tattler/ and this Tattlers Comparison Table at https://birdsqueensland.org.au/downloads/tattlers_comparison_table.pdf
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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