RED NECKED PHALAROPE at Quabbin!

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

Red necked Phalarope, Goodnough Dike area, Quabbin Park, MA, May 24, 2014

After finishing up some work around the house I had a few spare minutes so I checked out the Quabbin camera and the waters looked calm so I decided to try my luck once again there trying to turn up something unusual.  My goal was to try to turn up a Black Tern but what I eventually found instead was even better!  I arrived at Winsor Dam and did a quick scan but noticed the state police out playing with their new boat again so I didn't have much expectation in finding anything there.  I expected the area to be crawling with people but it was not too bad for an early afternoon on a holiday weekend.  With this in mind I decided I would head over to Quabbin Park itself and check the waters at Goodnough Dike and Hank's Meadow (usually I would avoid this area on the weekend like the plague).  I hiked down to a view point northwest of Goodnough Dike and scanned around.  I found a few loons and a Spotted Sandpiper but not much else.  I stayed there for awhile scanning when I caught sight of a bird on the water way out.  I got the scope on it and immediately noticed the bird spinning in the water...spinning like a phalarope!  Even at 60X power the bird was small and tough to pick features off of but I saw enough to identify it as a Red necked Phalarope.  A truly rare bird inland in Massachusetts and one I mentioned as a possibility a few days ago given the on and off rain.  The bird became not only #211 for the county this year but it was also a new Hampshire County bird for me (#280) and one of the few recent records of this species in the county.  The phalarope also became 223 for Quabbin Park and number 233 overall for Quabbin (yeah...I keep lists for lots of places).  It also became the third (and final) phalarope species for me in the county (my other sightings included a Red Phalarope found at Quabbin Park on May 20, 2011 and a Wilson's Phalarope near Arcadia on May 26, 2004). I watched the bird for several minutes and it would occasionally make short flights before settling back down to feed again.  I thought I could get a better view by moving down closer to Goodnough which was indeed the case although the bird was still way out there.  I watched the bird for 20+ minutes and despite spotty cell service managed to get word out about the bird.  It eventually made a few more flights as it moved north and west and eventually out of my view around 2:30pm.  I tried to relocate it after that but didn't have any luck.  Before the bird left I took many photos (and a few videos) with my iPhone through the scope and a few came out OK.  Although distant the photos show the field marks to ID the bird including the rufous neck, white throat, dark cap and dark markings on wings.  And to think I almost didn't head out at all again this afternoon and if activity had been different at my earlier stop at Winsor Dam I probably would not have headed over to Goodnough.  In the end it was a quite a bit of luck and timing and proved once again sometimes it just pays to go back out! 

A few links to video of the bird:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/14257271081/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/14073996020/in/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/14073924420/