I knew Surfbird would be harder to find, but, as my friend Oliver Komar said, I'd have a good chance of finding some Wandering Tattlers. And indeed I struck out on Surfbird, but I did find a couple of Wandering Tattlers.
Both of the birds I observed were in basic, or non-breeding plumage, and likely subadults.
Incidentally, I did see a Red-billed Tropicbird, but I didn't get very satisfying looks, or indeed any photos. This was a 'life bird' for me, and exciting as it was to add a lifer, the excitement was tinged with a bit of disappointment, for the bird did not come close. It wasn't far out over the ocean; in fact I saw it flying over some scattered rocks near shore where I had birded some 30 minutes earlier. Immediately obvious was its odd way of flying, with rather fast wing beats that did not seem to propel the bird at a concomitant speed; I could also make out dark outer primaries. Beyond that, I was not able to see very much detail on this bird, and I hoped to see it or a conspecific at closer range. Despite some time spent searching air space over the water, this did not happen. I did see some Franklin's and Laughing Gulls, and many Black Terns, as well as several Royal Terns. I had hoped to see some Blue-footed or perhaps Nazca Boobies as well, but didn't see any sulids.
Literature cited:
Gill, Robert E., Brian J. Mccaffery and Pavel S. Tomkovich. 2002. Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/642
Skeel, Margaret A. and Elizabeth P. Mallory. 1996. Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/219
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