October 20, 2014 [LINK / comment]
Life Bird: Red Phalarope
Thanks to an e-mail alert from William Leigh, I saw my 454th life bird last Tuesday: a Red Phalarope, in a pond near the town of Bridgewater, about 20 miles north of here. The weather was terrible, as a massive front dumped several inches of rain along the eastern seaboard, but I didn't care. I missed a chance to see a Red-necked Phalarope in this area last spring (during a similar period of rainy weather), and I was determined not to let that happen again. I arrived at the location in question in the early afternoon, and I had to retreat to my car to wipe off my binoculars more than once. Finally, the skies started to clear a little bit, and I spotted the little bird almost right away. As you can see in this photo, it has no red feathers in its winter plumage. Very few people ever get to see their brilliant colors during the breeding season, as they nest above the Arctic Circle in northern Canada. I learned that Phalaropes are strange in that they are shorebirds but often catch their food while swimming rather than wading. Red Phalaropes spend the winter months in the Atlantic Ocean, and only one has ever been seen in Augusta County. I'm not sure about Rockingham County records.
The photos I took weren't very good, as the bird was almost 100 yards away, but they are good enough for positive identification. I was lucky to meet three local ladies who know the people who own the farm on which that pond is situated.
I have also seen a few Palm Warblers over the past week, but not much else. I was going to lead an Augusta Bird Club field trip to Chimney Hollow on October 11, but that was rained out. (I have rescheduled that to November 1.) My two significant birding ventures this month were October 4 at Augusta Springs, and October 8 at Montgomery Hall Park. I took a closeup photo of a Box Turtle at the former location, and I'll post that soon. Plus, I have been to the Rockfish Gap hawk watch a few times, and the most notable sighting was an immature Golden Eagle on October 16. It was a great view, but I didn't have my camera!
I also have seen a number of Monarch (endangered!) and Buckeye butterflies lately, and got a nice photo of the latter, but not the former. So I updated the Butterflies page, and will add a few more photos to it soon.