View allAll Photos Tagged RedNeckedPhalarope
One of many nice memories from Svalbard last summer.
We lay on the marsh in the midnight sun, and got a couple of beautiful red-necked phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) really close in their fun search for food.
Even though the camera insisted on focusing on the water more than on the bird on this one, I just had to keep it.
(Svømmesnipe in Norwegian)
My album of images from Svalbard here.
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Pegwell Bay, Kent, England.
The red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans. Wkipedia
Length:17-19cm
Wingspan:32-41cm
Weight:27-48g
Population:
UK breeding:22 males
UK passage:30 birds
Read more at www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a...
It is not primarily a North American bird. ........ it does occur in Canada and Alaska but It is a European bird. It breeds in very large numbers across the northern coasts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the states of the former Soviet Union. They also breed in very small numbers in the UK with around 20 pairs being recorded across the Hebridean and Shetland Isles in 2011.
(Courtesy of a very esteemed gentleman)
Unlike any other sandpipers, phalaropes forage mostly while swimming, by picking items from the water's surface or just below it. Often they spin in circles on shallow water, probably to stir things up and bring food closer to surface. In general, they feed very rapidly on very small prey.
The Red-necked Phalarope, a member of the shorebird family, is functionally among the world's smallest seabirds. Smallest and daintiest of the 3 phalarope species, it spends up to 9 months of the year at sea, riding on a raft of dense belly plumage and feeding on tiny planktonic invertebrates at oceanographic fronts, convergences, and other discontinuities.
Female Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, 7.75 in. / 19.69 cm. COMMON locally. Nests in grass near tundra ponds. Winters on open ocean. Photographed in May 2007.
Saint Paul Island, Alaska, United States.
©bryanjsmith.
Adult female, in breeding plumage, feeding in shallow rainpool. Portland, Connecticut, USA. 30 May 2018. © Frank Mantlik 2018
I have been attempting to improve my life list the last few months according to Ebird. I am not sure it is a good thing. When I focus on photographing birds I do much better than when I am trying to find birds for my list. I do not seem to multitask well. Handling a digital camera is multitask enough!
Here I caught a juvenile Red-necked Phalarope; a lifer!, a juvenile Wilson's Phalarope; a bird I have only seen once before and a Long-billed Dowitcher.
With the high temperatures and the bright sun and the far distance across the water to the birds I count this a win.
Taken at Watermead Park, Leicestershire. Was impeccably close, it's tiny size meant I could still keep it in frame. A new species for me.
There are quite few Phalaropes in the same area as this little Red-Throated Loon. They are pretty good about letting me get close.
In Phalaropes the female has the brighter colors.
A young phalarope in Flatey, northern Iceland. The red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) is a small wader with lobed toes to assist with their swimming. When feeding, a red-necked phalarope swims rapidly in small circles, forming a small vortex and then plucks small insects that get caught by the whirls.
Photo 3 of 4 of mating in the pond on Grimsey. She is beginning to say "Enough already!"
Grimsey, Iceland
Digging around the archives. This one is from 9/9/2007, created with a D200, the AF-S 300/4 and the TC-17EII.
There are most certainly a few gems that I never processed hiding in the archives. In addition to the many that would benefit from re-processing using tools not available at the time.
Record shots of my first Red necked phalarope.Taken at RSPB Middleton Lakes in Staffordshire/Warwickshire.
Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, Nome, Alaska. I used this title because this species tends to twirl in the water as it seeks small prey. This is a bird in juvenile summer plumage. Adjacent is the same species in adult nonbreeding plumage.
Fairly small shorebird known for spinning frantically on water to stir up small invertebrates. Note thin, sharp bill. Breeding females are brighter and more contrasting than males: note white throat, reddish stripe on neck, and buffy stripes on back. Breeding males are duller, especially on head and neck. Nonbreeding is much less colorful: gray above and white below with streaky-looking back and black ear patch. Juveniles have blackish upperparts with buffy stripes, and a black ear patch. Breeds on Arctic tundra. Primarily found on the open ocean during migration and winter; also occurs on lakes, especially in western North America. Often in small flocks, but can gather in incredibly large numbers especially during fall migration. In migration mixes with Wilson’s Phalarope on inland lakes; Red-necked is smaller, more compact, and shorter-billed. On the ocean, frequently mixes with Red Phalarope, the only other oceanic shorebird; Red-necked is best distinguished by smaller size, thinner bill, and slightly darker, streakier-looking upperparts.
I ran into a pair of Red-necked Phalaropes today. I was walking and all of a sudden noticed them standing right next to me. They were surprisingly calm, especially the female who as you can see was very willing to pose for the camera.
The Red-necked Phalarope shares in the same gender role reversal habits as its cousin, the red phalarope. Females are larger and more brightly colored than males and take the lead in courtship and defense of a partner, leaving brooding and parental duties to males. They breed in the high Arctic tundra and migrate south for the winter spending all their time at sea. Unlike red phalaropes, some western birds migrate from pond to lake across land rather than out at sea. In my opinion, the only bad light in photography is tantamount to "no light at all." I will admit, however, that morning and evening light is definitely preferential when photographing colorful birds, like this phalarope near Fresh Water Lake in Barrow. #RedNeckedPhalarope
Fairly small shorebird known for spinning frantically on water to stir up small invertebrates. Note thin, sharp bill. Breeding females are brighter and more contrasting than males: note white throat, reddish stripe on neck, and buffy stripes on back. Breeding males are duller, especially on head and neck. Nonbreeding is much less colorful: gray above and white below with streaky-looking back and black ear patch. Juveniles have blackish upperparts with buffy stripes, and a black ear patch. Breeds on Arctic tundra. Primarily found on the open ocean during migration and winter; also occurs on lakes, especially in western North America. Often in small flocks, but can gather in incredibly large numbers especially during fall migration. In migration mixes with Wilson’s Phalarope on inland lakes; Red-necked is smaller, more compact, and shorter-billed. On the ocean, frequently mixes with Red Phalarope, the only other oceanic shorebird; Red-necked is best distinguished by smaller size, thinner bill, and slightly darker, streakier-looking upperparts.