Kevin S. Lucas
Red-necked Phalarope 2015-08-21
The post ocular stripe looks rather straight in this photo, but not in the next photo of this same individual.
Notice how the upper back appears dark, the side appears slightly grayish, and the front/breast appears rather white. These characteristics match the Red-necked Phalarope (RNPH) photo in 'The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America' 2010 (the thick photographic guide), page 286, lower left "Adult winter CA/11". Contrast this general shading pattern with that of the Red Phalarope (REPH) on the next page "Adult winter CA/11" There you can see a uniform gray back contrasting with white side/flank and white breast.
This photo shows a rather straight looking post ocular line, best matching the Stokes Red Phalarope. but the shape of that line can change substantially, depending on the posture of the bird. (See my next photo, of this same individual for proof.) In the Stokes photos, both winter adult RNPH and REPH have substantial white in the front of their caps, extending back past the mid point, so that would not be a field mark that could distinguish between these two similar species. This bird's white doesn't go back that far, so that points to juvenile RNPH. Some very light gray, almost whitish lines appear on the back in this photo. That points toward Red-necked Phalarope. In my photos here the bill thickness and length isn't clearly apparent. Fuzzy photos often greatly distort bill shape and size. That's very apparent in thousands of photos I've taken. In person I could clearly see a thin bill, not stout, as it would be if it were a Red Phalarope.
Photos can really help identification, but they can be tough to go by alone. What I've learned from looking at this batch of digiscoped photos of a winter plumage Red-necked Phalarope is that the best distinguishing feature in my photos, to show it's a Red-necked and not a Red Phalarope, is the pattern of relatively dark back, grayish side and whitish breast. Features in my photos that are not telling include the shape of the post ocular line, the extent of white on the cap, and the bill shape.
A Red Phalarope would be a rare visitor here in Yakima County. Here's a bit paraphrased from the Annals of Improbable Research, as found in (David) Sibley's Birding Basics, on identifying rare birds:
"If you think that you, of all people, have found a rare bird, ask yourself the following questions:
Is this identification correct?
Can you think of even one explanation that works as well or better to explain what you have seen?
Do the marks you have seen really unquestionably lead to the identification as a rare species?
Are you being ruthlessly honest with yourself, or could you be suffering from wishful thinking?"
Maybe that last line could read, "... suffering from wishful listing?" Wishful listing is a disease that all the members of Yakima County's Trespassholes club have caught and shared with each other.
As always, it was fun to watch it spin and twirl about. And once I got home it was fun to pore over my photos and field guides, to see and learn.
Red-necked Phalarope 2015-08-21
The post ocular stripe looks rather straight in this photo, but not in the next photo of this same individual.
Notice how the upper back appears dark, the side appears slightly grayish, and the front/breast appears rather white. These characteristics match the Red-necked Phalarope (RNPH) photo in 'The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America' 2010 (the thick photographic guide), page 286, lower left "Adult winter CA/11". Contrast this general shading pattern with that of the Red Phalarope (REPH) on the next page "Adult winter CA/11" There you can see a uniform gray back contrasting with white side/flank and white breast.
This photo shows a rather straight looking post ocular line, best matching the Stokes Red Phalarope. but the shape of that line can change substantially, depending on the posture of the bird. (See my next photo, of this same individual for proof.) In the Stokes photos, both winter adult RNPH and REPH have substantial white in the front of their caps, extending back past the mid point, so that would not be a field mark that could distinguish between these two similar species. This bird's white doesn't go back that far, so that points to juvenile RNPH. Some very light gray, almost whitish lines appear on the back in this photo. That points toward Red-necked Phalarope. In my photos here the bill thickness and length isn't clearly apparent. Fuzzy photos often greatly distort bill shape and size. That's very apparent in thousands of photos I've taken. In person I could clearly see a thin bill, not stout, as it would be if it were a Red Phalarope.
Photos can really help identification, but they can be tough to go by alone. What I've learned from looking at this batch of digiscoped photos of a winter plumage Red-necked Phalarope is that the best distinguishing feature in my photos, to show it's a Red-necked and not a Red Phalarope, is the pattern of relatively dark back, grayish side and whitish breast. Features in my photos that are not telling include the shape of the post ocular line, the extent of white on the cap, and the bill shape.
A Red Phalarope would be a rare visitor here in Yakima County. Here's a bit paraphrased from the Annals of Improbable Research, as found in (David) Sibley's Birding Basics, on identifying rare birds:
"If you think that you, of all people, have found a rare bird, ask yourself the following questions:
Is this identification correct?
Can you think of even one explanation that works as well or better to explain what you have seen?
Do the marks you have seen really unquestionably lead to the identification as a rare species?
Are you being ruthlessly honest with yourself, or could you be suffering from wishful thinking?"
Maybe that last line could read, "... suffering from wishful listing?" Wishful listing is a disease that all the members of Yakima County's Trespassholes club have caught and shared with each other.
As always, it was fun to watch it spin and twirl about. And once I got home it was fun to pore over my photos and field guides, to see and learn.