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Red Phalarope

Status Common transient. The earliest reported spring occurrences are of single birds at Cape Sable on 27 April 1981 and at Broad Cove, Lunenburg County, on 1 May 1983. Most birds, however, arrive in mid-May, and large numbers have been observed off southern Nova Scotia during the last week of that month. For example, very large flocks were reported by White (1891) off the Southwestern Shore between 27 and 30 May 1890. In spring 1980, a flock of 1200 birds was seen off Cape Sable on 20 May, one of 3000 some 25 km south of Seal Island on 27 May, and there were flocks of over 100 off Sable Island on 31 May and 2 June.

The birds' northward passage is very rapid; several killed by collision with the light on Cape Sable on 9 June 1968 are the latest to be reported in the spring. An interesting record is provided by Harding P. Moffatt who found a bright female "in spring" 1969 feeding on "floating May-flies," on Five Island Lake, Halifax County, about 18 km from salt water. Southbound birds begin to appear offshore in July and continue passing through until September, the peak being reached at the end of August. The earliest were 13 seen on 12 July 1985 in Cabot Strait, some 50 km northeast of Glace Bay. The species becomes very common off Brier Island in late August and early September; as many as 20,000 birds have been estimated in some years. Fairly large numbers remain there until the end of September, but counts of 100 are typical in early October. Unusual were 1500 Red Phalaropes off Brier Island on 7 November 1973 and 40 observed from the ferry Princess of Acadia (Digby to Saint John, New Brunswick) on the same day. On 12 November 1983, five were seen from Chebucto Head at the mouth of Halifax Harbour, and on 21 December 1973 a straggler appeared at Cape Sable.

Description Length: 20-23 cm. All plumages: As in all phalarope species, front toes lobed, and webbed at base; legs and feet dull yellow. Adult female in summer: Back striped with black and light ochre; cap black; cheeks white; underparts brownish red. Adult male in summer: Similar but crown streaked; less white on face. Adults in winter: Slate-blue mantle; white head, with poorly defined dark spot about eye extending back over ear region; a stripe down nape; mainly white underparts.

Range Circumpolar, along the coasts and islands of the High Arctic. In North America, breeds as far south as west Greenland, Hudson Strait and northern Alaska. Migrates down both coasts of the continent, being rare inland. Winters at sea, off western and southwestern Africa, and off Peru.

Remarks Except at nesting time these diminutive members of the sandpiper family are at home on the open sea where they wander about, far from land, often in very large flocks. They are especially common along the outer edges of major ocean currents, such as those off the coasts of Peru and Senegal, where the zooplankton on which they feed is abundantly concentrated at the sea surface.

To some mariners they are known as "whale-birds" or "sea-geese." The first name refers to the fact that baleen whales often feed on the same concentrations of zooplankton as do the phalaropes. The second name is an onomatopoeic rendition of their twittering calls.