Just in time for the Fall GOS Meeting.  On 23 September 1999, a group of birders from Hilton Head, SC, discovered this bird in a small pool of water, located along the path to the south beach of Jekyll Island.

The phalarope remained in the same area until after the GOS Fall Meeting, held on 1 - 3 October and headquartered on Jekyll I., affording many birders a unique opportunity to see this mostly pelagic (at least in eastern North America) species.

These photos were taken during the Fall Meeting weekend by Todd Schneider and Earl Horn.

This species is can be confused with its congeners, Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicaria) and Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor), in the fall and winter.  Given a reasonable view, however, some of the distinguishing characteristics are easily observed.  In the accompanying images, notice the Red-necked Phalarope's short, but thin bill.  Wilson's Phalarope has a long, thin bill and Red Phalarope has a short, thick bill.  Notice also the strongly marked upperparts.   The obvious presence of  whitish 'stripes' against a grayish background usually separates Red-necked Phalaropes from Red Phalaropes, which generally display rather clean grayish upperparts in the fall and winter.

The Annotated Checklist of Georgia Birds list Red-necked Phalarope as an "uncommon spring and fall visitor offshore, primarily in the middle shelf."  It also list this species as a rare inland transient in the spring and fall.

Return to Species Account Menu