2019 May I set out for a 17-mile drive stretching between Monterey and Carmel, a stretch of rocky coves and beach strands, a coastal segment popularly known as pebble beach in California. Spotting the California thrasher, a shy, elusive bird, soon after entering the pebble beach on a bush was a surprise. Further down, I could spot western gulls, marbled godwit, Sanderlings, which move with the tide, and black oystercatchers, to name a few.
Near the “lone Cypress” tree, I spotted a migratory shorebird, a Wandering tattler(Tringa incana, called WATA). WATA is a short-legged gray shorebird with a fairy-long bill and yellow legs resembling a common redshank. This bird was probably in its breed plumage with gray above, blurred gray and white below, with thin black and white patterning on the face. They forage more actively than other shorebirds, and this WATA was moving quickly over rocks picking crustaceans and probably molluscs from the rocks. As described, this bird was solitary.
The common name came from their migratory pattern traveling far and their tattling alarm calls, described as four-note whist.
[the_ad id="61677"]