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| A Brit abroad |
LAKE HERRICK PHALAROPES!!! UpdatedUnbelievably, a post-lunch walk down to Lake Herrick turned up 2 PHALAROPES in the midst of a rainstorm! First I panicked, then I called a couple of local birders, and shot off a few horrible pictures, and finally decided to run around to the other side of the lake to get closer. Unfortunately the trail departs from the lakeside and in the few minutes it took me to get around, the birds had flown, never to be seen again. Here are some of the lousy photos I got. The bill on the right hand bird looks fine, suggesting Red-necked, but the unpatterned back is more suggestive of Red. I would welcome feedback on the identification; whatever they turn out to be, they're the rarest birds I've found in GA so far!   UPDATE. i've uploaded a couple more photos. Following discussion with more birders, I'm now leaning strongly towards Red Phalarope. The black nape-line ending neatly at the pale grey back, and thick-necked appearance of the birds are pro-Red features, while both of the photos below are suggestive of a broad bill base. According to the Annotated Checklist of Georgia Birds (GOS 2003), fall records of Red-necked Phalaropes lie between Jul 24 and Oct 14, while Reds have been recorded from mid-September onwards (albeit more rarely inland). The birds pitched down in a rainstorm. While not particularly windy, the birds arrived at the start of a cold snap that also saw Myrtle Warblers and a Pine Siskin (my first of the fall) at the same site.   I repeat, comments welcome! 4:48 PM - Thursday, October 15, 2009 - post comment
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