Phalaropus fulicarius
Status: Rare casual spring and fall migrant central and east.
Documentation: Specimen: FMNH, 15 Oct 1921 Dad’s Lake, Cherry Co (Conover 1934; Bray et al 1986).
Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized.
Spring: There are three documented records:
28 Apr 2001 Wilkins WPA, Fillmore Co molting adult (Jorgensen 2004)
21 May 2011 York Co alternate female (Brogie 2012)
15 Jun 2001 North Hultine Basin, Clay Co (Jorgensen 2003, 2004, 2012).
Additional undocumented reports are of singles near Alliance, Box Butte Co 19 May 2000, and near McGrew, Scotts Bluff Co 12 May 1998.
Fall: Most reports are of birds in juvenile or first basic plumage. A 21 Sep report of a winter-plumaged adult was not accepted by NOURC (Brogie 2003). Tracy et al (2020) cite interior dates 13 Jul-19 Nov.
The accepted Nebraska reports are:
1 Aug 1993 Phelps Co (Gubanyi 1996a)
10 Aug 2022 Goose Lake, Crescent Lake NWR, Garden Co (Mlodinow, eBird.org)
24 Aug 1993 Phelps Co (Gubanyi 1996a)
26 Aug 2006 molting adult Lake McConaughy, Keith Co (Silcock 2006)
12 Sep 2020 basic Enders Reservoir, Chase Co (Winters, eBird.org)
13 Sep 1998 two molting juveniles Lake Babcock, Platte Co (Brogie 1999)
15 Sep 2006 juvenile Lake McConaughy (Silcock 2006)
15 Sep 2007 Crecent Lake NWR, Garden Co (Gilliam; eBird.org
15 Sep 2007 basic adult Lakeside, Sheridan Co (Silcock 2007)
17 Sep 2005 adult and juvenile Lake McConaughy (Silcock 2005)
22 Sep 2016 basic Branched Oak Lake, Lancaster Co (Brogie 2017)
23 Sep 1985 basic adult Pierce Co (Brogie and Brogie 1985; Mollhoff 1987)
26 Sep 1987 molting juvenile Pierce Co (Brogie and Brogie 1988; Grenon 1990)
1 Oct 1995 molting juvenile Lancaster Co (Gubanyi 1996b)
5 Oct 2010 Branched Oak Lake, Lancaster Co (Silcock 2010)
10-13 Oct 1986 juvenile Platte Co (Mollhoff 1987)
15 Oct 1921 Cherry Co (specimen cited above)
20 Oct 2020 basic North Platte WTP, Lincoln Co (Edwards, Willison; eBird.org)
27 Oct 2012 juvenile/first winter Branched Oak Lake (Silcock 2012)
7 Nov 2009 juvenile Branched Oak Lake (Brogie 2009)
11-24 Nov 2013 molting juvenile Lakes North and Babcock, Platte Co (Brogie 2014).
Comments: This species is essentially pelagic during the migration and the non-breeding period, and so Interior records do not follow usual migration patterns, although it has been reported almost annually since 2000. The species’ occurrence in the Interior is likely weather-related (Tracy et al 2020).
Images
Abbreviations
FMNH: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
NOURC: Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee
NWR: National Wildlife Refuge
WPA: Wildlife Production Area (Federal)
WTP: Water Treatment Plant
Literature Cited
Bray, T.E., B.K. Padelford, and W.R. Silcock. 1986. The birds of Nebraska: A critically evaluated list. Published by the authors, Bellevue, Nebraska, USA.
Brogie, M.A. 1999. 1998 (Tenth) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 67: 141-152.
Brogie, M.A. 2003. 2002 (14th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 71: 136-142.
Brogie, M.A. 2009. 2008 (20th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 77: 80-90.
Brogie, M.A. 2012. 2011 (23rd) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 80: 112-122.
Brogie, M.A. 2014. 2013 (25th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 82: 131-146.
Brogie, M.A. 2017. 2016 (28th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 85: 128-142.
Brogie, M.A., and E.M. Brogie. 1985. A Red Phalarope in Pierce County, Nebraska. NBR 53: 72-73.
Brogie, M.A., and E.M. Brogie. 1988. Red Phalarope. NBR 56: 22-23.
Conover, H.B. 1934. Records of the Red Phalarope and American Scoter from Cherry County, Nebraska. NBR 2: 38.
Grenon, A.G. 1990. 1990 (Third) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 58: 90-97.
Gubanyi, J.G. 1996a. 1992, 1993 (Fifth) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 64: 30-35.
Gubanyi, J.G. 1996b. 1995 (Seventh) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 64: 132-138.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2003. 2001 (13th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 71: 97-102.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2004. An overview of shorebird migration in the eastern Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Occasional Paper No. 8. Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2012. Birds of the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Mollhoff, W.J. 1987. First report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 55: 79-85.
Silcock, W.R. 2005. Fall Field Report, August-November 2005. NBR 73: 134-150.
Silcock, W.R. 2006. Fall Field Report, August-November 2006. NBR 74: 110-128.
Silcock, W.R. 2007. Fall Field Report, August-November 2007. NBR 75: 98-118.
Silcock, W.R. 2010. Fall Field Report, August-November 2010. NBR 78: 130-150.
Silcock, W.R. 2012. Fall Field Report, August-November 2012. NBR 80: 126:157.
Tracy, D.M., D. Schamel, and J. Dale. 2020. Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.redpha1.01
Recommended Citation
Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2023. Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius). In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org
Birds of Nebraska – Online
Updated 12 Oct 2023