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RED PHALAROPE on Lake Hickory!



Dwayne and I did our (almost) daily tour of Lake Hickory boat accesses today
and found a Red Phalarope at Dusty Ridge Access.  I thought, at first, that
it was some trash floating in the water----until Dwayne yelled, "Oh my God,
it's a phalarope!"  It was about 50 feet from us in a small cove on the left
side of the boat access.  It was very active and seemed to not mind our
presence at all.  We watched for over 15 minutes as it fed (lunging its head
forward and making quick stabbing motions with its bill) and as it did the
characteristic twirls.  We called Dom & Emma D'Ostillio to come and verify
our id---but they weren't home of course!  We left to get my mother's
camcorder (I will be purchasing my own within the week)----only to find that
her battery wasn't charged and she had no tapes.  With daylight fading, we
had to get back---camcorder or no camcorder!

We returned to find it on the right side of the boat access about 100 feet
out.  We again got excellent scope views and watched for half an hour as it
fed and spun.  It did fly once, a couple of feet---perhaps scared a little
by the (literally) thousands of Grackles taking flight all at once.  (We
looked for a Yellow-headed Blackbird in the multitudes---guess we couldn't
be that lucky, huh?)  It flew towards us though, so we couldn't see the
pattern on its wings.

We determined it to be a Red Phalarope on several counts.  First, there was
little to no barring on its back.  It appeared rather uniformly gray.
Second, the black on the nape did not come up to the crown of the head, it
stopped just before the crown. And third, its bill did not appear
"needle-like".  It appeared to be more "stubby" if you will.

Hopefully the bird will stay around for a couple of days so that others will
have a chance to see it.  Directions to the boat access are as follows:
From I-40, exit onto Highway 16N (exit 131).  You will be traveling towards
Taylorsville in Alexander County.  After approx.. 7 miles, you'll cross the
Catawba River (you can't miss the dam!).  Take the first road on the left
after the bridge.  Go to the end of the road and turn right.  Take the first
road on the left (Rink Dam Road), and then take the third(?) road on the
left (Poly Bowman Road).  Turn right again at the first road (Deal Farm
Road) and you will soon see the sign for the Dusty Ridge Boat Access on the
right.  Follow the dirt road to the end for an excellent view of the lake.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail us!  We'll check back tomorrow
and let you know if it is still present.

*************************
Dwayne & Lori Martin
Foothills Bird Club
Claremont, NC
dlmartin@twave.net