It was early on October 24th when this text came across the Blue Ridge Audubon text group –
“Phalarope species at Julian just now”
Any Phalarope in the western NC mountains would be a
rarity. And this time of year the most
likely species would be either a Red-necked or even a rarer Red. I needed both species for my Buncombe County
list, and better yet I needed Red Phalarope for my NC state list. So within minutes I was out the door to chase
after the still unidentified rarity.
I was part way along my 25-minute drive to Lake Julian when
the next text came across –
“We’re leaning Red…bird is pretty distant but the bill looks
too thick”
At that point I pushed the accelerator down a bit harder. The 25-minute drive seemed like 25 hours.
Along the ride I mentally reviewed the salient fieldmarks to
separate the Phalarope species. I’ve seen
quite a number of Red and Red-necked Phalaropes over the years, including hundreds
on pelagic trips when they were often distant birds either foraging on the
ocean surface or flying by in flocks. In
non-breeding plumage the most important field mark on those distant birds is
the mantle color – solid gray on a Red, and streaked gray and black on
Red-necked. Bill length and thickness are
also good fieldmarks, but the slightly shorter and slightly thicker bill of a
Red Phalarope are less likely to be noticeable on a distant bird, though of
course that would eliminate a Wilson’s.
When I finally pulled into Lake Julian the first thing I saw
was 2 birders standing at their cars. My
heart sunk as my first thought was that the Phalarope had flown away and the
birders had given up. Instead, they were
just heading out after long views of the bird and other birders were still on
it. Crisis averted. A minute later I was at the shoreline with 3
other birders watching the distant Phalarope.
I shared my ID details with the other birders who had limited if any
experience with these species, and started my own review of the bird.
The Phalarope was perhaps 75 to 100 yards out on the lake,
which sure complicates the ID on an 8-inch-long bird. Luckily the water was smooth as glass and
there was no heat shimmer. It was
actively foraging, rapidly picking at morsels on the surface, with frequent spinning
along the way. Classic Phalarope
activity. And the bill was short and
thick. Now to concentrate on the
mantle. The sun seemed to be washing out
the bird, but the back did indeed appear to be pale and uniform. Though there were a couple darker feathers in
the folded wings. A bit later the bird
swam more to the west changing the sun angle, giving even a better look at the
mantle – truly looked uniform gray. It seemed
good for a Red Phalarope, but it sure would be nice to have a closer look.
After I left, three birders rented a paddle boat and were
able to paddle right up to the bird getting great looks confirming the ID as a Red
Phalarope. It was likely a juvenile bird
still molting into its first winter plumage.
Per eBird, there were 3 previous records of Red Phalarope in
western NC – the most recent of which was in 2004. Interestingly, all 3 were in Transylvania
County. In two of these older records it
was noted in the eBird checklist that the bird was seen right after wind and
rainstorms, which is typical for inland Phalarope records. But you certainly couldn’t attribute the Lake
Julian bird to a storm event – we were in the middle of a mild drought with no
rain for several weeks. Just a bird passing
through I guess. Another surprising
migrant for the NC mountains. In fact, I’ve
seen all 3 Phalarope species in western NC since I moved to the area in 2019.
Red Phalarope was #321 for my NC state list. NC is now my 11th state with all 3 Phalaropes.
My statebird map for Red Phalarope is inserted below. The blue states are those where I’ve seen
this species in its regular coastal range and as a breeder in AK.
Cross-hatched Oregon is the last state in its regular range where I’ve
yet to see it. The seven brown states are
those where I’ve seen it as an inland rarity.
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