Gray-tailed Tattler – Burghead, Moray, 28th November 1994
So, there I was at Birmingham Airport, on Sunday 27th November 1994, on my way back from the Department of Environment Wildlife Inspectors Annual Seminar in Birmingham, along with several other Scottish-based Wildlife Inspectors, namely, as best I remember, Roger Broad, Roy Dennis, Brian Etheridge, Rick Goater, Alan Heavisides and Eric Meek.
The pager, which had caused ‘interest’ throughout the weekend, proved its’ worth when it announced the presence of a Gray-tailed Tattler at Burghead, in Grampian(!!?!). I, in turn, announced this news to my colleagues, to mixed response, although closet twitchers may well have been amongst my colleagues.... (who included two ex-Fair Isle Bird Observatory wardens and a future Chairman of the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee and Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust, for example…… )!!
I had no such reservations, and planned my strategy there and then. Once back in South Queensferry I ‘phoned Nick Smith and altered my plans for the whole week. Having freed up Monday, I plotted my approach, and as a result Gilly agonised over whether or not she was going to be ill.
She wasn’t, so I set off alone at 07:30. As I got to Pitlochry the pager armed me with the good news of the birds’ continued presence and so I made a pit stop to ‘phone work to make my excuses, and fuel-up for the rest of the journey.
Then it was on to Speyside and beyond, until finally I reached my destination, successfully navigating into Burghead itself, and then to the appointed spot / stop. Some 20 or so cars were parked up on the green behind the seawall. I assembled my kit, and, typically, as I got ready to join the ‘throng’ it dispersed! However, it was apparent that the bird had moved east along the shore. The shore was backed by a loose rock wall, and was comprised of rock outcrops with pools and expanses of sand in-between. The seawall was separated from the houses and the maltings by a green shore-walk area, which afforded a fine vantage point. Jim Pattinson (?) and others moved along the track in search of the tattler. I asked Jim whether the bird had moved this way, and he indicated it had and that it frequently moved along the shore in this manner. We scanned the waders, and Jim suggested that it had doubled back again.
However, I spotted it close to us. It remained in sight for the duration of my stay, some 50 – 60 minutes. I watched it feeding at less than 30 m range for most of this time in a scene that was – for me – very reminiscent of those involved with the Wandering Tattler at Galveston. At this point I must declare that I had ‘previous’ with tattlers; Mike Thompson and I found the first Wandering Tattler for Texas on St. George’s Day in 1992, just 2½ years earlier.
Anyway, it was a really smart bird – and in my opinion quite distinct from Wandering Tattler.
It had a blackish eye-stripe in front of the eye, with strong supercilium, and a browny-grey crown. Also apparent was a pale grey-brown upper breast and neck, with a paler chin and throat. The bird had darker grey-brown upperparts with dark grey wing tips with faint flecking on coverts. The underparts were white other than a very faintly barred area on the flanks. It had chunky (short) yellow legs, parti-coloured straight medium length pale-yellow and grey bill with long nostril slot, and black eye. Build most similar to Terek(?) Sandpiper or perhaps Green(?) Sandpiper. Overall, it was a very distinctive wader.
An epic twitch. A memorable bird which was well-watched and even car-ticked!
She wasn’t, so I set off alone at 07:30. As I got to Pitlochry the pager armed me with the good news of the birds’ continued presence and so I made a pit stop to ‘phone work to make my excuses, and fuel-up for the rest of the journey.
Then it was on to Speyside and beyond, until finally I reached my destination, successfully navigating into Burghead itself, and then to the appointed spot / stop. Some 20 or so cars were parked up on the green behind the seawall. I assembled my kit, and, typically, as I got ready to join the ‘throng’ it dispersed! However, it was apparent that the bird had moved east along the shore. The shore was backed by a loose rock wall, and was comprised of rock outcrops with pools and expanses of sand in-between. The seawall was separated from the houses and the maltings by a green shore-walk area, which afforded a fine vantage point. Jim Pattinson (?) and others moved along the track in search of the tattler. I asked Jim whether the bird had moved this way, and he indicated it had and that it frequently moved along the shore in this manner. We scanned the waders, and Jim suggested that it had doubled back again.
However, I spotted it close to us. It remained in sight for the duration of my stay, some 50 – 60 minutes. I watched it feeding at less than 30 m range for most of this time in a scene that was – for me – very reminiscent of those involved with the Wandering Tattler at Galveston. At this point I must declare that I had ‘previous’ with tattlers; Mike Thompson and I found the first Wandering Tattler for Texas on St. George’s Day in 1992, just 2½ years earlier.
Anyway, it was a really smart bird – and in my opinion quite distinct from Wandering Tattler.
It had a blackish eye-stripe in front of the eye, with strong supercilium, and a browny-grey crown. Also apparent was a pale grey-brown upper breast and neck, with a paler chin and throat. The bird had darker grey-brown upperparts with dark grey wing tips with faint flecking on coverts. The underparts were white other than a very faintly barred area on the flanks. It had chunky (short) yellow legs, parti-coloured straight medium length pale-yellow and grey bill with long nostril slot, and black eye. Build most similar to Terek(?) Sandpiper or perhaps Green(?) Sandpiper. Overall, it was a very distinctive wader.
An epic twitch. A memorable bird which was well-watched and even car-ticked!
Gray-tailed Tattler, Burghead, Moray, November 1994 (photographer unknown)
Gray-tailed Tattler, Burghead, Moray, November 1994 (photographer unknown)
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