First Record of the Terek Sandpiper in California
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FIRST RECORD OF THE TEREK SANDPIPER IN CALIFORNIA ERIKA M. WILSON, 1400 S. BartonSt. #421, Arlington,Virginia 22204 BETTIE R. HARRIMAN, 5188 BittersweetLane, Oshkosh,Wisconsin 54901 On 28 August 1988, while birding at Carmel River State Beach, MontereyCounty, California(36032 ' N, 121057' W), we discoveredan adult Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus). We watched this Eurasian vagrantbetween 1110 and 1135 PDT; we saw it again,along with local birders, between 1215 and 1240 as it foraged on the open beach. Wilson observedthe bird a third time on 5 September 1988 between 1000 and 1130; otherssaw it regularlyuntil 23 September1988. During our first observationa light overcastsky resultedin good viewingconditions, without glare or strongshadows. The weather was mild with a slightbreeze and some offshorefog. We found the Terek Sandpiperfeeding in the Carmel River'sshallow lagoon, separated from the Pacific Ocean by sand dunes. Its long, upturnedbill, quite out of keepingwith any smallwader with whichwe were familiar,immediately attracted our attention. We moved closer and tried unsuccessfullyto photographit. Shortlythereafter all the birdspresent took to the air. The sandpiperflew out over the dunesbut curvedback and landedout of sighton the open beach. We telephonedRobin Roberson,and half an hour later she, Brian Weed, Jan Scott, Bob Tinfie, and Ron Branson arrived,the lattertwo armedwith telephotolenses. We quicklyrelocated the TerekSandpiper on the beach,foraging at the surfline. The followingdescription is basedon our field notes,with color names takenfrom Smithe(197.5). Our bird was a medium-sizedsandpiper resemblinga winter-plumagedSpotted Sandpiper (Actitis rnacularia)but distinguishedby bright yellow-orangelegs and an upturnedbill (Figure1). The evenlycurved, dark horn bill, 1.5 timesthe lengthof the bird'shead, had a fleshyorange base. Narrow white ringsencircled the dark eyes. Above the dark lores there was a broad white supercilium;it narrowed over and behindthe eye. The dark loral line extendedbehind the eye as a thin, dark eye stripe. The rest of its head, includingthe crown, nape, and cheeks,was smokegray to drab gray; its chin and throat were white. Its upperpartswere the samesmoke gray, with six black-tippedscapulars on eachside forming two linesdown the back.The scapularsand coverts were worn and lackedbright edgings (Figure 2). The underpartswere pure white from vent to breast. The upper breastwas washed evenly with drab gray, dark near the shoulderand pale near the center. When the birdwas standing,its wingtipswere evenwith the end of its tail. In flight its tail was rounded,and both tail and rump were smokegray. On the upperwing, its primaries,primary coverts, and outer lessercoverts were black. The inner wing was drab gray, but the secondarieswere broadlytipped with white (Figure3). This contrasting wing pattern was not so bold as in a Willet (Catoptrophorus semi- palrnatus)but wasstriking nonetheless. The wing liningswere white. WesternBirds 20: 63-69, 1989 63 TEREK SANDPIPER IN CALIFORNIA When first located the Terek Sandpiper was picking items off the surfaceof the water and adjacentmud. It movedquickly back and forth along the shore and occasionallywent back to rework the same area. During our second observation it was picking items from the beach surface, working close to the surf line along with two Sanderlings (Calidris alba). On 5 September 1988 Wilson saw it foragingin the same area of the lagoon where we first found it, as well as out on the beach and even farther out on the rocks. Others who submitted field notes to the California Bird Records Committeerecorded the bird feedingor roostingin a varietyof habitats. It foragedin the lagoon'sshallow waters, along the upperbeach, on wet sand, among seaweed-fringedrocks, and out on the floatingkelp beds behind the breakers. It foraged alone, althoughoften close to other waders using the same substrate. It took flies from the surfaceof the kelp and the beach, captureda smallcrab and variousinvertebrates, and probeddeeply into wet sand. It restedand preenedon the beach,along the edge of the lagoon,atop large rock outcrops,and on the kelp beds. The sandpiper's behavior was well documented on video by Neal Williams. The flight of the Terek Sandpiperconsisted of rapid, stiff wingbeats, deeper than those of SpottedSandpiper, although, like the latter, it did not raise its wingsabove the horizontal. It flew in loosezigzags and in straightlines, often high overhead,in contrastto the low-over-the-water Figure1. TerekSandpiper, Carmel Beach State Park, 28 August1988. Notethe evenlyupturned bill. bright yellow-orange legs, and the blackedging at the bend of the foldedwing. Photo by Peter LaTourette 64 TEREK SANDPIPER IN CALIFORNIA Figure 2. Terek Sandpiper,Carmel Beach State Park, 2 September 1988. Note the blacktips on the scapularsand the flesh-coloredbase of the bill Photo by Greg W. Lasley Figure3. Terek Sandpiper,Carmel BeachState Park, 6 September1988. Note the broad white trailing edge of the secondariesand the contrastingblack primaries. Photo by Don Roberson 65 TEREK SANDPIPER IN CALIFORNIA flightsof the Spotted Sandpiper. The Terek Sandpiperalmost always curveddown on set wingsto land. The only vocalizationwe heard from the Terek Sandpiper was a single, thin call note as it flew past us along the beach. Most other observersreported that it was silent, but Jon Dunn heard it give a "ringingthree-note whistle on one pitch"on severaloccasions. This firstdocumented California record was unanimouslyaccepted by the California Bird Records Committee on its first circulation. In addition to field notes from sixteen observers,the documentationincludes video footage, color slides,and prints. It is estimatedthat severalhundred birders from sixteen states, Canada, and England saw the Terek Sandpiperbetween 28 Augustand 18 September1988, the lastdate for whichthere is a first-handreport (D. Robersonpers. comm.). DISTRIBUTIONAL SUMMARY The Terek Sandpiper breeds from Finland, northern Russia, and northernSiberia south to centralRussia, Lake Baikal,and Anadyrland.It winters from the Persian Gulf, southern Red Sea, southeastAsia, and Hainan south to South Africa, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands,the East Indies, New Guinea, and Australia (A. O. U. 1983). Vagrantshave occurredwidely in Europe and North Africa (Cramp and Simmons1983) and in New Zealand(Hayman et al. 1986). Pugnali et al. (1988) recordedone in January 1988 in BuenosAires Province, Argentina. Roberson (1980) summarized the documented North American occurrences, at that time restricted to Alaska's islands and coast. He also cited two records outside of Alaska, an unconfirmed report from Dungeness,Clallam County, Washington, and from Alberta, Canada(the latteris probablyan error,referring to the Manitobasighting below, Robersonpers. comm.). There is a Canadiansight record from Churchill,Manitoba, for 13 July 1972 (A. O. U. 1983, Godfrey1986). The first photographicdocumentation of the Terek Sandpiperoutside of Alaska was of a breeding-plumagedadult near Sooke, on Vancouver Island,British Columbia, between 21 Julyand 6 August1987 (Tweitand Mattocks 1987, Zurowski 1987, Goodwill and Goodwill 1988). Recordsin Alaska have almost tripled since 1980 (Gibson 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, Gibsonet al. 1987, 1988). Taken with the previ- ouslycited records,these occurrencesnow extend from late springto early fall (Figure4). Cramp and Simmons(1983) indicatedthat spring migrationends by mid-June,with egg-layingand hatchingbeing most commonin mid-to-lateJune, and fall migrationbeginning by the first of July'fornon-nesting birds. IDENTIFICATION SUMMARY Terek Sandpipersare easy to identify. The stronglyupturned bill, medium size, and yellow-orange legs distinguishthis species in all plumages.The bill is more stronglyand evenlyupturned than that of any 66 TEREK SANDPIPER IN CALIFORNIA other sandpiper,including yellowlegs and their allies(Tringa) and godwits (Lirnosa). Terek Sandpiperhas an unusualupperwing pattern of black primaries,primary coverts, and outerlesser coverts, coupled with broadly white-tippedsecondaries, that is not sharedwith any North American species. Many wadershave white stripesacross the wing, but theseare due to white-basedflight feathers, white-tipped coverts, or a combination of these two patterns, rather than white-tippedsecondaries. The Wilier has white-tippedsecondaries, but the white extendsinto the basesof its primaries. In structureand posturethis bird remindedus of an oversizedSpotted Sandpiper. It teetered like Actiris as it foraged, although not so consistently,and maintained a horizontal body posture. The Terek Sandpipercombined feeding strategies seen in both speciesof yellowlegs (daintilypicking from the watersurface and making rapid, erratic dashes), but it useda muchwider variety of substrates(quiet lagoon, open beach, rockyshores, and kelp beds)than do most waders. Winkler (1980) noted some of these same foragingtechniques in his study. He found that TerekSandpipers usually began a feedingbout by pickingitems from the surfacebut then turned to deepprobing as theirmain foraging strategy. Determining the age of waders in fall migration requires close observationof feather wear, feather markings, and overall plumage pattern. Our first impressionwas of an adult becausewe saw black scapularlines on the back and did not see cinnamon-fringedbrown scapularsor buff-fringedbrown covertsthat would have indicateda juvenile. Examinationof the slidesand photographsof this Terek Sandpipershowed