Verification of Unusual Sight Record
For Utah

Rec. # 2002-
12


Common name:

Curlew Sandpiper

Scientific name: Calidris ferruginea
Date: May 6, 2001
Time: 3:30 to 4:00 p.m., 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Length of time observed: 1-1/2 hours total
Number: 1
Age: Adult
Sex:  
Location: Antelope Island Causeway
County: Davis
Latilong:  
Elevation:  
Distance to bird: 10 to 15 Yards
Optical equipment:  
Weather: Partly cloudy with high clouds
Light Conditions: Good. Sunny.
Detailed description of bird: About the same size as the nearby Sanderlings.
Longer bill than Sanderlings.
Dark bill curved down slightly.
Face rufous tinged, but with whitish-gray cheek.
Narrow white eye ring, whitish eyebrow stripe.
Cap on top of head was rufous with dark mottled streaking.
Scaly looking mottled dark and rufous back.
Rufous breast with white speckling and larger white patches near belly.
White underneath from belly to tail.
Black legs.
Song or call & method of delivery: Not heard
Behavior: Active foraging among the rocks along the causeway shoreline. Sitting quietly. Resting on one leg with bill tucked under wing.
Habitat: Rocky, sandy shoreline at edge of Great Salt Lake.
Similar species and
how were they eliminated:
Not a Dunlin because there was no evidence of black on belly. Plus, the breast was rufous.

Not a Red Knot because bill was long and curved.
Previous experience with this & similar species: We've seen many Dunlins and Red Knots. This is our first sighting of a Curlew Sandpiper.
References consulted: The Sibley Guide to Birds
Description from: Notes Made Later
Observer: Joel and Kathy Beyer
Observer's address: 1719 Hillcrest Avenue, Salt Lake City, UT   84106
Observer's e-mail address: twobirders@juno.com 
Other observers who independently identified
this bird:
Keith Evans
Terry Sadler
Dana Green
Date prepared: May 26, 2001
Additional material: