Under the Pandemic: Red Phalarope

I interrupt the blog post I could never finish to bring you this Red Phalarope! 

On Monday, Neil Gilbert sent out an alert on our Dane County Notable Birds chat group about a Red Phalarope photographed the prior day by Dr. Tim Van Deelen, a professor of Wild Ecology at University of Wisconsin, Madison. At 9:46 a.m. he sent an update on location, "Warner park. I'm out the door." Twelve minutes later, "BIRD IS HERE." Within minutes another half dozen birders had the bird at the Warner Park Boat Launch. The number of birders who saw this bird at spitting distance off the north shore of Lake Mendota quickly grew throughout the morning. Sadly, I was not among them...

Per the usual with Dane rarities this year, I was working over an hour away. Around 11:00 a.m. I glanced at my typically super silenced phone to see it had exploded with notifications from the Dane County Notable Birds chat as well as with texts from fellow nerds. Adrenaline and angst set in. Could I get through my caseload and be home before dark to see this bird? I was both tortured and hopeful by the reports coming in about the continuing bird...

In unusual fashion the Universe ultimately was on my side for the day. My caseload lightened allowing me to leave work earlier than anticipated. 

By 2:30 p.m. I had my eyes on this glorious little gem, the only phalarope I managed to see in my patch this year! A fucking Red Phalarope! A 7.5 mile-radius patch bird, a Dane County lifer and the first I've seen this species since November 2012. 

I soaked in its cooperative presence, plunked down in the sand in my work scrubs, grateful to have had my optics in tow when I left for work. In between capturing photos and struggling with my camera, I caught up with some old birding friends. But mostly I was just riding that rarity BLISS high, dazed and checked-out from any conversations I was having. 

Hope certainly IS a thing with feathers. November appears to be turning the tide in that direction. The distraction from the swirling insanity of the COVID-19 wave was most welcome. 

Stats: 

• According to the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology Rare Bird Records, this is the 3rd record for Dane Co.
• The prior two Dane Co records are specimens from 1899 and 1935
• I have seen this species on 6 occasions, 5 of those in Wisconsin
• Red Phalarope=2020 7.5 MR patch bird #231
• 232=2020 7.5 MR patch total to date
• 229=7.5 MR patch high count prior to 2020 (in 2018)
• Beer is a great barrier to keeping up with this blog