Records Committee Utah Ornithological Society Web Site

Common name:	White-rumped Sandpiper
Scientific name:	Calidris fuscicollis
Date:	28-30 May 1999
Time:	28th: 4:00pm, 29th: 9:00 am, 30th: 11:00 am
Length of time observed:	Several hours total
Number:	1-3 max
Age:
Sex:
Location:	Pelican Lake & Ouray National Wildlife Refuge
County:	Uintah
Latilong:
Elevation:
Optical Equipment:	You name it! Scopes and binoc.
Distance to bird:	60 feet
Weather:	Good.
Light Conditions:	Sun orientation: all directions
Detailed description of bird:	Relative Size: Smaller than the Killdeer and Wilson's Phalarope, which were near by. Head & Neck: Forehead, crown and nape finely streaked with no median line. The birds had no malar streak or much of an ear patch. Eye & Lores: Eyes only with slight eye ring and somewhat of a dark lore stripe. Upper & Lower Mandible: Bill dark with slight droop. Legs & Feet: Dark legs. (black) Upperparts: Rump (uppertail coverts) was white in flight. Also white rump (uppertail coverts) was seen as birds were preening. Back was acaley dark brown except for scapulars which were reddish. Underparts: Throat -- white but chest finely streaked dark on white background. Belly, white except for flanks which also were streaked. Rectrices: Tail was brown -- somewhat darker at center. Wing: In fligtht bird did not show wing strip. Dark brown and uniform best describes wing.
Song or call & method of delivery:	None heard
Behavior:	Birds were feeding on mud flats or resting.
Habitat:	Mud flat
Similar species and how were they eliminated:
Previous experience with this & similar species:
References consulted:
Description from:
Observer:	Coen Dexter
Observer's address:	175 Sunset Cir., Palisade, CO 81526
Observer's e-mail address:
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	11 other birders from Grand Junction, Colorado
Date prepared:	5 Jul 1999
Additional material:	9 Photo, Original Documents
Additional Comments:	On the 28th of May we canoed around Pelican Lake and found 1 bird on the north side of the lake on a mud flat. On the 29th we visited Ouray NWR and found 2 more on the man-made mud flats. On the 30th we took canoes back to the mud flat on Pelican Lake and found three birds. These locations are not far apart and the birds from Ouray SWR could have flew over to Pelican Lake.