Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Phalaropus ("coot foot") lobatus ("lobed")

Non-breeding Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) at Berkeley, California - August 2022

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 27-48g  /  Length: 17-19cm  /  Wingspan: 32-41cm
UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Red-necked Phalarope is one of the most tenuous breeding species in the UK; it is at the very southerly fringe of it's range on some of the islands of Scotland, otherwise it largely breeds in Norway, Finland, Russia, Canada, Greenland and Alaska.  It is however migratory, and a small number pass through on passage each year, allowing it to be seen in more easily seen on passage as it heads out to open patches of sea in the tropics.  Typically however it is still hard to catch up with on passage, not staying more than a day at a single location, however a few individuals in 2018 proved to be more lingering, making them a lot easier to catch up with.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Phalaropus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A rare passage migrant (30 birds) and very local breeding species (22 males)

 - An single passage migrant at Oare Marshes in July 2018.

UNITED STATES 
Patchily distributed across Western Lower 48
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Berkeley

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Phalaropus ("coot foot") tricolor ("three coloured")

First Winter Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) at Oare Marshes, Kent - October 2017

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 51-79g  /  Length: 23cm  /  Wingspan: 38cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Wilson's is the the largest of the three species of Phalarope and the only one not normally found in Europe - it's a bird that ordinarily breeds in North America and travels to the South, with very occasional vagrants like this one getting blown off course to Europe.  Perhaps the most distinctive thing about the Wilson's Phalarope while watching it though is it's perculiar feeding technique - it moves rapidly in small circles on the surface of the water which apparently sucks small invertibrates upwards where the bird can feed on it.  In addition to doing this, this particular bird had mastered another technique - stalking a feeding Northern Shoveler at short distance, presumably to feed on the creatures disturbed in it's wake.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Phalaropus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Very rare vagrant

 - A vagrant Oare Marshes in October 2017.

UNITED STATES 
Breeds in North West and around the Great Lakes
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Five seen at Monterey

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius)

OTHER NAMES: Red Phalarope

Latin Etymology: Phalaropus ("coot foot") fulicarius ("black and white")

 Adult Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) at Hove, East Sussex - January 2014

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 55g  /  Length: 20-23cm  /  Wingspan: 43cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern

The grey phalarope is a passage migrant that comes through the UK mainly in winter.  Although known as the grey phalarope in the UK, this is based on its Winter plumage which is the only time we see it here, and thus, in America, it is somewhat confusingly known as the red phalarope.  The three species of phalaropes form a strange group of birds - unlike most waders they are pelagic - and spend much of their lives far out to sea eating plankton from the surface of the ocean; they float on the surface of the water more like a gull or auk than a typical wader.  This particular bird had decided to settle on a paddling pool in a park in Brighton, and, with what I have heard is the typical boldness of the species, was entirely oblivious to humans who it would get within a few meters of it.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Phalaropus
Subspecies: None - monotypic

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A scarce passage migrant (around 200 birds)

 - A single bird seen at Rutland Water and a single bird at Hove in January 2014,

UNITED STATES 
Breeds on the North Coast of Alaska, passage elsewhere

 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen on the Half Moon Bay Pelagic Trip

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .