Ah! The sun has reappeared after what feels like a whole week of rain, and it feels wonderful. Since we saw the rare Red Necked Phalarope during a downpour on Saturday, I thought I'd try again in the sun. Some people reported finding it, and others on the KY Birdlist said it was gone.
On Saturday, we saw two females at this vernal pond. Just to show you how small a bird this is, here is an un-zoomed view, as it were. That dark dot in the middle of the pond is the single Phalarope found today. No idea what happened to the other one - hope she's OK.
This gorgeous little girl was busy with her toilette today. Ducking into the water for a bath...
...stretching her wings up to help dry them, then preening each feather so it lays perfectly.
All this activity gave me some great looks at the markings on her wings...
...before a couple of dogs jumped into the pond. She took off in a hurry, but casually circled around, and when the dogs moved on, she landed in exactly the same spot to finish her bath before looking for a late afternoon snack.
The rest of the pond was empty except for one Teal-winged Duck couple, and this Green Heron, who also fled squawking to a nearby tree as the dogs came to his end of the pond. I always wish I could get a clear photo of the Meadowlarks who live on the other side of the pond, but guess I'll just be happy listening to their beautiful songs!
1 comment:
My birding buddy and I tried to find a red-necked phalorope that was reported in Wilcox Lake in Wilcox, AZ. There was a huge flock of Wilson's but we never found he Red-necked. Too bad. It would have been a Life Bird for me! Your shots are wonderful and I like the green heron as well!
Post a Comment