I stopped by Barr Lake late this afternoon and found a phalarope in the northeast part of the lake, viewed from both the dam and the boat ramp. It was very likely a RED PHALAROPE, but I can't be 100% sure. It had a large-headed, thick-necked appearance and had a long tail, cocked upward at a sharp angle. The bill appeared short and thick, but I understand it's hard to tell the difference between Red and Red-Necked bills except at very close range. (This bird was about 200 yards away when I viewed it through a scope, unfortunately too much in the direction of the sun.) The bird appeared to be a nonbreeding adult, not showing any color and with a back appearing plain light gray when lit by direct sun. I would be interested in hearing other observations from birders who see / have seen this bird.
-- There were a lot of waterbirds in general at Barr, and I only got a taste for what was there in my limited time, mostly spent watching the phalarope. Other birds of note included:
* hundreds of gulls (California, Ring-Billed, a few Herring, and late-arriving Franklin's)
* thousands of ducks (Northern Shoveler and Gadwall seemingly the most abundant)
* a female Red-Breasted Merganser
* a couple of Cattle Egrets near the dam and the boat ramp.
David Dowell
Longmont, CO
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/791ecb65-a6a1-4f4b-9ca2-42d21936fccd%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
No comments:
Post a Comment