Post #180 - Red-necked Phalarope showcase, part 2 of 2

In my last post, I chronicled two recent and emotionally-charged encounters with Red-necked Phalaropes. However, those represented only two-thirds of the story, and I'll use this post to fill in the remaining chapter.

As a reminder, I ran into an amazingly-cooperative octet of Red-necked Phalaropes at Hayward Regional Shoreline on May 25th. I was on my bicycle on that day, and I captured a few nice images of the birds with the Canon 7D2 and 400mm f/5.6 lens I was carrying. The pictures were good (again, last post), but I deeply regretted I hadn't intersected the birds with my preferred photographic equipment, my Canon 1DX2 and 600mm f/4 IS II lens, because the results would have been even better. Returning home that afternoon, I decided I'd return to Hayward Regional Shoreline the following morning, a sunny forecast suggesting ideal shooting conditions if the birds stayed through the night. The sun scheduled to rise at 5:55am, I departed the house at 5:30 to be in position by 6:15.

As the following shots will attest, the birds did stay through the night. They proved as cooperative as the previous day, and I spent 90 minutes interacting with them as they paddled about the surface of the small pond I show above (I was laying in the mud just to the left of my bag). I started with my 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on my 600mm lens, and by the end of the session I'd removed it and added a 25mm extension tube to facilitate closer focus than the naked lens would allow. Rather than drone on, I'll just shut up and show you the results. I hope you enjoy them! You will want to click on the images to see them larger!

Red-necked Phalarope pair - female in front, male behind
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS 1D Mark II
1/2500 at f/5.6, ISO 640

Male Red-necked Phalarope 

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX Mark II

1/2500 at f/7.1, ISO 800

Female Red-necked Phalarope 

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS 1DX Mark II

1/3200 at f/5.6, ISO 800

Female Red-necked Phalarope 

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS 1DX Mark II

1/3200 at f/5.6, ISO 800

Female Red-necked Phalarope 

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS 1DX Mark II

1/3200 at f/5.6, ISO 800

Male Red-necked Phalarope 

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II +1.4x III on EOS 1DX Mark II

1/3200 at f/5.6, ISO 800

Female Red-necked Phalarope 

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 25mm extension tube on EOS 1DX Mark II

1/2500 at f/7.1, ISO 800

It was a truly amazing morning, one of those rare instances when photographer and subjects connected perfectly. I never thought I'd be able to obtain such close-range breeding plumage captures of this species outside of Alaska, so I was thrilled to walk out of my local encounter with so many keeper frames. These are the mornings which make wildlife photography - the pure, in-field sort where subjects are stalked/approached under natural and unbaited conditions - such a wonderful and rewarding pursuit.

Post #179 - The life and death of the Red-necked Phalarope, part 1 of 2

Every once in a while, the timing of two events imbues them with otherwise unrealized significance. Such was the case these last few days, and I'd like to share the following story with you.

This past week - and with covid restrictions loosening - I took an extended ride to the Central Valley to explore some new bike-birding territory in Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Contra Costa Counties (more on this in a future post). Incongruously still missing Red-necked Phalarope for my Alameda County bike list, I decided to make an in-transit stop at Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge after crossing the Dumbarton Bridge on the first morning of my five-day loop. Unfortunately, enthusiasm waned when I found this in the middle of the road just outside the refuge entrance.

Male Red-necked Phalarope - The number and array of 
car-killed birds I find while cycling is astounding. 

I've seen tens of thousands of Red-necked Phalaropes over the years, notably on pelagic trips and at the Great Salt Lake in Utah, but I hadn't appreciated how dainty the species was until I held this lifeless example in my hand. With the bird migrating from its Arctic breeding grounds to its tropical wintering grounds and back each year, it was depressing to know the long-distant migrant  succumbed to unnatural causes - probably a vehicular strike or power line collision - given the herculean challenges it likely overcame during its sadly-truncated life. The encounter was really depressing, particularly as my subsequent half-hour search failed to reveal any living phalaropes, and the episode weighed heavily on me through the remainder of my ride to Livermore.

Red-necked Phalarope range map 

from this Cornell website

Fast-forward four days, and I'm back on the Alameda Bayshore after looping inland (map below). Birding Hayward Regional Shoreline, I noticed a small area which looked surprisingly suitable for photography. The elevated bayshore dikes are useless for proper shorebird photography, and access considerations and pollution make it impossible to get into the habitat in all but a few places. Seeing Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets in a clean and accessible patch of marsh, I put birding on hold and flipped into photo mode, the warm morning light painting those resident shorebirds with photogenic colors. Approaching the birds, I noticed eight Red-necked Phalaropes foraging on a small and adjacent patch of water. Beyond representing my sought county bike-bird, they proved very receptive to approach once I busted out my 7D2 and 400/5.6. Laying down in the packed mud abutting their preferred puddle, I captured a few frames, these representing the two best. After finding the dead phalarope on the outgoing leg, it was wonderful to experience the living versions for an extended time and at close range. 

A very rough outline of my route. With additional 

and unmapped exploration, the total was ~290 miles.

Male Red-necked Phalarope

Female Red-necked Phalarope

So, two phalarope intersections - one depressing, one inspiring - separated by 250 miles of pedaling. I thought it was a fun story. Hopefully you do as well. I'll have part two of this feature sometime in the next week, so please check back for that. Cheers!