Máistir Nádúraí: Red Phalarope!

11.18.2020

Red Phalarope!

Dane County Life Bird! Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), ~~discovered~~ reported on the 16th by area birder Neil Gilbert. It was still present at Warner Park Beach today, so I got to go see and photograph it. It's county bird somewhere around 295, I'm not sure because I've been pretty lax about tracking my county records. Anyway, the last time I observed this species was 15 years ago at North Point, Milwaukee. Apparently, this species was last recorded in Dane County in 1935. The previous (and first-ever) record was in 1899 by―and get this―Neil Gilbert.

ADDENDUM: Awww! The "Gilbert Factor" was indeed too good to be true. I just saw on eBird that the Red Phalarope was first found by Tim Van Deelen, who emailed Neil Gilbert a photograph of the discovery. The story was reported to me incorrectly.

Bio:

Mike McDowell has been documenting southern Wisconsin’s flora and fauna since 1987 and began leading field trips in 2002. Prolific at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, other highlighted natural areas include Pope Farm Conservancy, Spring Green Preserve, and the Baraboo Hills. His nature photography has appeared in various publications, newspapers, magazines and was even featured on a Wisconsin Endangered Resources license plate, a Capital Brewery beer label, and a National Geographic publication. He began journaling nature observations on this blog in 2005. He's the recipient of the 2012 Bronze Passenger Pigeon Award from the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their local communities or state to promote the field of ornithology. He was a finalist in Swarovski’s Digiscoper of the Year photography contest several times. His other interests include insect macro-photography (especially tiger beetles, treehoppers, and robber flies), fossil collecting, amateur astronomy, botany, natural history, and marksmanship with long-range firearms. Once a gigging musician, collecting Fender Stratocasters is a recently revived interest—most prized being a 1957 Vintage Custom 'Mary Kaye' White Blonde. A former IT Professional, he's spent the last 24 years employed in the sport optics industry and has more binoculars than you.