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 [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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.
