Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2003 22:34:15 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Fred Shaffer Subject: Phalarope notes After seeing Bob Ringler's post, I decided to post my notes on the bird, for what they are worth: The viewing conditions were much better in the PM. It was bright, sunny and the sun was behind me. There was no haze. My notes were that the bird was all white underneath, including the entire throat. I didn't see even a faint wash across the throat or upper breast. The bill was very thin, and I thought that it was the right length for a Red necked Phalarope, as I compared it to the illustrations in the Sibley and Geo Guides. I was also struck by how small and delicate the bird looked. It was smaller then what I was expecting, significantly smaller then the Yellowlegs (but I think I just saw Greater Yellowlegs together with it at close range). When the bird moved closer to where I was, I saw an eyeline. It look black and distinct, but perhaps not as obvious as is illustrated in the guides. The forehead was white. The bird stayed at least belly deep in the water the entire time that I viewed it (about 45 minutes). I thought that the bill was short like those illustrated for the Red necked Phalarope, and the bird seemed a bit small for a Wilson's Phalarope. But, my experience with Phalaropes is pretty limited. Fred Shaffer Patuxent MOS ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================