Red-necked and Red Phalaropes

Description

Phalaropes reverse the usual sex roles in birds. Females are larger and more colorful than males and will take the lead in courtship. Conversely, male phalaropes are left to incubate the eggs and care for the young.

Phalaropes are dainty looking birds. Red Phalaropes are red all over with a black crown, white eye patch, and black and white back. In the winter, Red Phalaropes become gray all over, earning them the nickname “Gray Phalarope.” Red-necked Phalaropes in breeding plumage are mostly gray with light brown streaks along the back and a red patch across the neck. Above the red is a small white patch and directly above the eye is another small white patch. A third species, Wilson’s Phalarope (P. tricolor), is a rare visitor to the Chugach Region.

Habitat and Status

Phalaropes spend most of the year at sea and return to Alaska to breed in the spring. Red-necked Phalaropes nest from Yakutat and up towards the Arctic coast, as well as west towards the Aleutian Islands. In the Chugach Region, the Red-necked Phalarope is a conspicuously abundant migrant, a common summer visitor, and an abundant breeder. The Red Phalarope nests in the high Arctic, and winters in flocks on southern oceans. It is rarely seen inland in most parts of North America. In the Chugach Region, the Red Phalarope is an abundant migrant and an uncommon summer visitor to the Chugach Region.

Phalaropes differ from other Alaskan shorebirds in that they are exceedingly tame and can be approached easily. Also, unlike other shorebirds that feed in shallow water, phalaropes forage at sea during the nonbreeding season. When feeding in deeper waters, phalaropes sometimes swim rapidly in a small circle which creates a vortex from which they will peck from the center of the circle. in fact, one Native name for this bird, Nimishuruk, means “spins in a circle” (ADF&G). At sea, these birds feed on invertebrates such as krill, copepods, arrow worms, and amphipods. Phalaropes sometimes associate with other animals, such as Gray Whales and Long-tailed Ducks, that apparently stir up food from the bottom while feeding. Phalaropes have even been seen gleaning parasites from the backs of whales.

Audubon modeling suggests that much of the high arctic breeding ranges of phalaropes will be lost in a rapidly warming climate. While their wintering ranges may not be directly impacted by higher air temperatures, marine heat waves may severely impact prey such as krill in the coming decades.

Red-necked Phalaropes are less well distributed but are locally abundant in the Chugach Region.

Red Phalaropes are widely distributed in the Chugach Region including all offshore areas.