[obol] BLACK SWIFTS and Red-necked Phalaropes at Fern Ridge

[DAVID IRONS]

I just returned from a moist tour of the Fern Ridge area.  Weather like 
this, dense low overcast with persistent drizzle, often produces low-flying 
Black Swifts this time of year, which motivated me to get out of the house.

I started at the south end of the Fisher Butte unit walking in from Hwy 126. 
  In the second pond n. of  Hwy 126 there were two Red-necked Phalaropes.  I 
surveyed both ponds and counted at least 21 Black-necked Stilts, including 
three birds sitting on nests.  There were also about 10 Wilson's Phalaropes, 
mostly on the second pond.  There were hundreds upon hundreds of swallows, 
Purple Martins and Vaux's Swifts feeding low over the marshes.