View allAll Photos Tagged RedNeckedPhalarope
We often see flocks of phalaropes coursing around on the open ocean in fall, but rarely do we see a brightly coloured spring bird like this on land. This one was extremely cooperative during its three-day visit in a small "pond" just outside St. John's. Unlike many other species, female phalaropes are more colourful and showy than males. May 10, 2010.
Having failed to find any red-necked phalaropes in the distant Shetland island of Fetlar - we were really too early for them - the following weekend we were in Minsmere, Suffolk, where quite coincidentally we were able to watch a red-necked phalarope which had somehow lost its way and stopped there for a rest. This is a very distant shot and a tiny crop - but at least the phalarope is identifiable! D7100_14131.NEF. Many thanks for views, comments and favourites.
A juvenile or basic plumaged Red-necked Phalarope was observed at Nygren Wetland Preserve outside Rockton, Illinois. Third day of this bird being seen. Long distance shot unfortunately.
With a plethora of phalaropes around recently I have tried to catch some at sunset the few evenings that have not been foggy. In this shot you can see the insect the phalarope is aiming at. (For larger view, use the plus sign just above right corner of the photo or the "L" key.) Morro Creek, Morro Bay, CA
Red-necked Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus
My closest look ever at a phalarope, as it flew by the boat on our pelagic trip.
The juvenile Red-necked Phalarope can be identified by the buffy stripes on the back. Our smallest phalarope, and the most likely to be seen in the Bay Area. Taken at a pond near Frank's Dump, along the Hayward Shoreline north of the Winton Avenue trailhead.
Red-necked phalaropes in Head Harbor Passage, NB with Sandy Ledge and Deer Island in the background. Photo taken by Birgit Braune, 1982
Sandvík, Reykjanes, Islandia / Iceland. Agosto 2017
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Phalaropus
Species: P. lobatus
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.
Interesting to note about these guys is that the are among the smallest seabirds, and spend up to 9 months of the year on the open ocean. I was lucky enough to catch these guys fueling up at Rodeo Lagoon on their way south from the breeding grounds in the Arctic. This is just a small bit of the larger group - there must have been at least 25-30 birds cruising around the shoreline, and I saw another smaller group in a different area as well.