Racing with Phalaropes
June 26th, 2009 by Chris McCreedy and Claire Skinner
Date of sighting: 25 June
Claire and I were driving to Hawthorne yesterday evening, underneath the stormy sky. Heading east on Highway 167, just past Cemetery Road, a flock of about 30 phalaropes raced us at 40-50 mph for about 3 miles. It was unnerving and spectacular, they flew in front of us and would occasionally weave left or right, but rather than peel away, they would re-center on 167’s yellow line, and the race continued. Even though it wasn’t dark, I turned off our headlights to ensure the light wasn’t affecting them – and it didn’t seem to be, as the chase continued for another 45 seconds after I turned off those lights. Spectacular.
This post was submitted by Chris McCreedy and Claire Skinner.
