Pharaloped!

Hi ho everyone. We made a quick trip down to Quintana (near Freeport, TX) after a report of at least a pair of Red-necked Pharalopes carousing with a horde of Wilson's. We arrived at the spoils area just off the Intracoastal Waterway bridge and within about three minutes had our mark. It was not the best photo circumstances - early light, good distance and a ton of movement - but you can clearly see that one of these birds is not like the others!

Right in the middle... note the thick, dark eye stripe.

It was a good 'get' ahead of our West Coast trip next week. We also managed to snap pics of a Lesser Black-backed Gull, Merlin and a Boat-tailed Grackle... putting us ever closer to the 400 mark. We expect to reach that... and then some on the California trip. Stay tuned!