Some great migrating birds were seen on Saturday at
Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson, AZ. I picked up a lifer when I spotted the reported
Red Phalarope hanging out with some Long-billed Dowitchers. This is a new bird for this migrant trap, bringing its total to 290 species. Red Phalaropes are "casual" here mainly in late fall, and even more rare in the spring. It wasn't in breeding plumage yet, but I'll take it! These photos aren't the best quality since the birds were in a distant, inaccessible recharge basin.
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| Red Phalarope |
I got even more excited (like Tim Tebow excited) when I saw a
Red-necked Phalarope in breeding plumage! What a cool looking bird! This species is "casual" here until late April when it becomes "rare." It's the first one I've seen in breeding plumage and my first one in Pima County. Amazingly, I was able to get the profiles of both phalaropes in the same shot.
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| Red-necked Phalarope (left) and Red Phalarope (right) |
Female phalaropes are larger and more colorful than males, which makes this Red-necked Phalarope a female.
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| Red Phalarope range map |
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| Red-necked Phalarope range map (orange = migration) |
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Hello there:) Did we meet? I think I got similiar shots but they are terrible compared to your own:) You can see them on todays post. I barely saw them circling around and didn't think I got them on camera until I got home....when I did, I saw them....very very blurry. But it was still cool. I brought my telephoto lens on Sunday but by that time they were already gone.....but maybe they'll return.
ReplyDeleteHi, it seems we were there at the same time on Saturday. It was quite a sight, even though the phalaropes were far away. Hopefully they are still around. Good luck!
DeleteNice....the rarest and the rarer of Arizona phalaropes...mad props.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve, it was one of those lucky days!
DeleteOoh congrats on the lifer- I recently got my first Red Phalaropes also.. Good birds!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen, they're definitely cool birds!
DeleteCongrats on getting these images Jeremy! These birds will soon make an appearance up here in Utah too!
ReplyDeleteJeremy, congratulations on the Red Phalarope lifer! Very exciting! This is a bird I would love to see. How fantastic that you saw the Red-necked Phalarope, as well and then were able to capture them in the same photograph. Terrific!
ReplyDeleteSome type of specialized hardware--binoculars or cameras--is needed to view the shorebirds in those basins. The irony is that the birds that frequent that area might be too wary to do so if it became more accessible to the public or if more zealous birdwatchers trespassed.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures of the red phalarope (including those on Flickr) accomplish the critical point of identification, and the yellow at the base of the beak, which should be observable in year-round, is clearly shown. This is not the case with the other phalaropes, and some book illustrations wrongly show the red having a solidly blackish beak.
ReplyDeleteIdentification of the phalaropes calls for a full ensemble, and many guides either omit or misidentify--the more colorful breeding female, the breeding male, non-breeding adult, and juvenile.