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Wandering Tattlers Traverse the Pacific
Cultures throughout the Pacific region have names for this bird.
© Becky Matsubara
The Wandering Tattler is one of the few birds equally at home along the coast and high in the mountains. They’re found far and wide along Pacific shores, living up to their “wandering” name and gaining names in many local languages throughout the ocean basin. Their nesting habitats in the mountains of Alaska, western Canada and eastern Russia were a mystery for many years. Despite their wide range, there could be as few as 18,000 Wandering Tattlers left in the world.
This show is brought to you by Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture, which works to ensure wild birds thrive in abundant and diverse habitats.
BirdNote®
Wandering Tattlers Traverse the Pacific
Written by Conor Gearin
Michael Stein: This is BirdNote.
The Wandering Tattler is one of the few birds equally at home along the coast and high in the mountains.
[Wandering Tattler calls]
They’re shorebirds with a ringing alarm call that tends to cause any other birds in the area to fly off, too, “tattling” about a potential threat up and down the beach. They’re found far and wide along Pacific shores, living up to their “wandering” name as well.
Cultures throughout the ocean basin have names for this bird, demonstrating how widely they range. In Hawaiian, they’re called ʻŪlili and in Tahitian, Uriri – both probably reflecting the undulating sound of their calls.
[Wandering Tattler calls]
Their nesting habitats remained a mystery for many years. Leaving the shore far behind, they travel far inland to mountainous habitats in Alaska, western Canada and eastern Russia.
Despite their wide range, there could be as few as 18,000 Wandering Tattlers left in the world. To keep this species around, it’s essential to protect the habitats they rely on and to learn more about their lives. If you see a Wandering Tattler, reporting your sighting on eBird helps add to the scientific picture of this mysterious bird.
For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
This show is brought to you by Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture, which works to ensure wild birds thrive in abundant and diverse habitats.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Wandering Tattler ML207291 recorded by Bob McGuire, and Wandering Tattler ML137851 recorded by Gerrit Vyn.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2024 BirdNote February 2024
Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# WATA-02-2024-02-02 WATA-02
Reference:
https://pacificbirds.org/2023/03/wandering-tattlers-are-working-their-w…
https://www.stateofthebirds.org/2022/tipping-point-species/
Conor Gearin
Writer
Michael Stein
NarratorSights & Sounds
