Oddball little birds.
Six days ago at Bear River MBR I spent some time up close with two small groups of Wilson’s Phalaropes. Phalaropes are oddball little birds in that their plumage colors and sex roles are reversed from those of most other birds. This boldly and brightly marked phalarope is actually an adult female while the smaller males are much less colorful.
This from Cornell’s Birds of the World:
“Wilson’s Phalarope is the largest and most terrestrial of the three phalarope species, which are well known for their reversed sex-role mating system. Larger and more brightly-plumaged females compete for mates and are sometimes polyandrous, whereas males provide all parental care.”
Sadly I didn’t photograph any males on that morning. I could have and I wish I had, but I didn’t.
This older photo shows how I usually see Wilson’s Phalaropes – in mind-boggling numbers as they’re using Great Salt Lake as a staging area during migration. But on the lake they’re always far away so it was a treat to get relatively close to a few phalaropes at the refuge last week.
Back to the same female as in the first photo. At first, when I saw her hunkered down in this pose, I thought she might be trying to sneak up on some small aquatic invertebrate but that wasn’t the case.
She was actually just entering deeper water just prior to transitioning from wading to swimming.
28 minutes later in a different area of the refuge, this phalarope allowed me an even closer approach. I believe this less boldly marked bird is a female still transitioning into breeding plumage. As was often the case that morning, I didn’t have very good light while I was with her but I think some of my photos of her turned out reasonably well.
Here’s the same bird just a few seconds earlier. I’m not fond of the stem poking out of the top of her head but this is the only phalarope shot I got that morning that allows us to see a leg and foot.
This might be the most aesthetically pleasing phalarope shot I got that morning, if you like pink. I think the composition of the photo is a strong point, with the placement in the frame of both the bird and the emergent vegetation behind her.
She was in shade and the pink color of the water is the reflection of warm early morning light on the faraway Promontory Mountains behind her.
The placement of her eye in the frame even conformed perfectly to the “rule of thirds”. That doesn’t happen very often in my bird photos but when it does, I notice it.
Ron
Love your phalaropes, but I am jealous. Just returned from birding at Bear River Sandi didn’t see any.
These are beautiful. I am not a pink person but I really like the pink tones with the red in her neck, very analogous. There were groups still there this morning but not close. I took some shots but have not gone over them yet. I had a great morning and took 3,800 photos, filled my card! It might take me a bit to go over that many, I hate to view, delete and process. I take small portions at a time.
Wow, 3800 photos. You’ve got your work cut out for you, April.
I’m not a pink person either. Pink or purple…
That murmurration!!!!! How and why there are not mass collisions blows me away. Perfect choreography.
And how I love to learn of birds (and other species) kicking the established rules to the curb.
Thank you.
Collisions, lots of them, seem impossible to avoid, don’t they EC. And they never seem to happen. Magical.
Nice photos of fascinating birds. The phalaropes are probably the best known of all birds with sex-role reversal. In this country Spotted Sandpipers also have sex-role reversal. Not only is the female a bit larger, far more colorful and more aggressive, it is the females that have the higher level of testosterone. She guards the nest site but he does all of the incubation and care of young.
Did you get to see their unique feeding behavior? They spin on the surface of the water, creating a small whirlpool beneath them. This draws up invertebrates from deeper down and brings them closer to surface for the birds to grab. Fun birds to watch up close.
“it is the females that have the higher level of testosterone.”
Dan, I didn’t know that but it makes perfect sense.
Yes, I’ve seen that feeding behavior – here in Utah and in Montana. I’m intrigued every time I see it.
What pretty birds! I think my only experience with Phalaropes is the title of the book “Too Late the Phalarope” by Alan Paton, early 1950’s, about South Africa. Now I’ll have to re-read it and find out why that was the title. I can picture exactly where that book sat on my parents’ bookshelf. Thanks for the memory jog. (And the beautiful photos! The murmuration is astonishing!)
“The murmuration is astonishing!).”
Carolyn, then you can imagine what it was like to see it in person. Again and again, because they’d all land and then take off again. There were other groups like that one too.
I never figured out the reason for the title and the book was too terribly sad – I cannot imagine having the strength to read it again
Very interesting Ron. I have taken photos of them here and just have assumed the colorful ones are male. Never knew anything about them until reading your post this morning. I think I do remember you showing the GSL photo before though.
Good memory, Everett. Yes, I first published that photo back in 2020.
I ditto Kris Eberhard’s comments – a real treat!
Thanks, Burrdoo.
Very interesting post. Another lesson from the professor.
Don’t think I have ever seen one of theses in the wild.
“…in mind-boggling numbers as they’re using Great Salt Lake as a staging area during migration.”
According to the interactive Audubon Migration Map, the Salt Lake area sees a significantly higher concentration of these birds than any other place in the contiguous States west of the Rocky Mountains this time of year.
Thanks, Michael. At times it’s almost beyond belief how many phalaropes are on the lake. And then fairly suddenly, they’re all gone.
Beautiful photos all! I’d love to those birds. I’ll put them on my long list!
I hope you get to see some one day, Joanne.
What a stunningly-varied series of images ! From the perfect
portrait of the female in #1, followed next by a powerful murmuration, and ending in gently lavendered waters—–there is something unusual in even the glassy mirrored shadows of the last 2 images-
your post this AM was a real visual treat …….
Glad you enjoyed it that much, Kris. Thank you.
Interesting, pretty little bird! 🙂 I centainly wasn’t expecting it to be swimming! The adaptations of various bird and other critters is alway amazing – we really understand so little about them. Reflections ALWAYS capture my attention. Those huge flocks can be dizzying to watch for me.
On the comedy side my bird feeder that excludes “larger” birds does not exclude Hairy Woodpeckers! It shinies right through to grabe some grub unperturbed by the thight fit! Don’t mind as they’re not in large numbers hogging the feeder.
Thanks, Judy. I’d be happy having Hairy Woodpeckers at my feeders regardless of how much they ate.