Red-necked Phalarope and Other Shorebirds

If you haven't seen any new shorebirds in Idaho over the last few days...you must have been asleep.  On Saturday, we got a call from Jay and Heidi about a number of shorebirds at Black's Creek Reservoir.  The bird we most wanted to see was a Red-necked Phalarope, since we had only seen them once on a whale-watching tour in southern California, where they barely appeared as tiny specs bobbing in the distance.  When we arrived, the male Red-necked Phalarope was floating near shore foraging, and a number of peeps were feeding on shore.  I took a seat on shore, and within minutes the unsettled peeps made their way towards me, foraging down the shoreline.  Phalaropes feed off-shore, floating on the water and picking bugs off the surface (see video below). Eventually, the phalarope came on shore and started preening.  When he went back out on the water, he got so flat on the surface, I could barely see him!  Meanwhile, a little group of shorebirds on the opposite shore flocked up in a tight flock, and the single Western Sandpiper near me literally hit the ground, and crouched down very flat against the rocks.  You could see his tiny little eye staring overhead, as an American Kestrel passed over.

Red-necked Phalarope - male

Red-necked Phalarope - male

Red-necked Phalarope - male

Most of the peeps were Least Sandpipers (8 total-a species we saw earlier in the week at Mountain Home Reservoir), but there were also 5 Western Sandpipers present, a new year and state bird for us.  Jay and Heidi had spotted a single Semi-palmated Sandpiper in the small flock, and we also spotted him in the distance.  He didn't come in quite as close as the others, though, but his black legs were visible in the scope.  A few Spotted Sandpipers also foraged nearby, and gave a nice size comparison as they foraged amongst the peeps.  A group of 5 Long-billed Dowitchers stayed a little farther back, and were more interested in sleeping rather than foraging.

Western Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper (from back to front)

Spotted Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

The next day at Black's Creek, the shorebirds were nowhere to be found, except for a few Least Sandpipers. The weather has been a little crazy lately, so I am sure they left at the first sign of a weather break.  At Mountain Home Reservoir, it was still a little rainy and windy as we did some uncomfortable birding in the mud, and found our FOY Semi-palmated Plovers.  The place was loaded with Least Sandpipers, and also a number of Western Sandpipers.  There was also a small flock of Wilson's and Red-necked Phalaropes.

Semi-palmated Plover

Semi-palmated Plover

Check out Alex's enthusiastic post over at Nemesis Bird for a look at the

warblers we've seen over the weekend!