Seward, Alaska
Just a few days
ago, RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were reported in Kenai Fjords National Park. Tasha
spotted four near the breakwater by the Alaska Sealife Center this afternoon.
Thanks to her hot tip, I was able to refind three, including a juvenile.
The birds were
riding the incoming waves and the sloshing rebound off the shore. I saw one
dive underneath a particularly large wave, then bob right back up. They were in
constant motion, like a wind-up toy, feeding in the ribbons of detritus,
quickly picking out zooplankton, tiny crustaceans, and mollusks.
The adults were
molting into winter plumage, but retained a bit of reddish color on the neck.
The juvenile wore a dark crown that covered her entire head, and was otherwise
brown, black, white, and gray. She was larger than the nearby male.
The smallest of
the three species of Phalaropes, only 6 to 8” long with a 14-15” wingspan, this
shorebird spends most of its life on the open ocean. It breeds in tundra ponds
in Alaska and northern Canada, then migrates down the Pacific coast to
overwinter on the ocean off the coast of South America.
The female is
larger, has brighter plumage, and after laying her four eggs, leaves to let the
male incubate and care for the young. There must be some evolutionary advantage
to this, as so many males of other species seem to benefit from this strategy.
Instead of considered “normal” this is called a “switch of traditional roles”.
Party on, little lady!
Info gleaned from
the Wildlife Journal Junior http://www.nhptv.org/wild/redneckedphalarope.asp
Also of note,
this afternoon I received a report of a juvenile SAW-WHET OWL being mobbed by fearless
NUTHATCHES and CHICKADEES. I arrived late and missed it. Perhaps that diminutive
little guy was in my spruce yesterday, causing a similar disturbance in the
Universe as we know it.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic
Bird Report Reporter
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