Sunday, September 29, 2013

Resting among the Ruppia

I haven't had a chance to post these images, so here are a few from Salmon Creek on 14 September:

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) resting among Ditch-grass or Wigeon Grass (Ruppia maritima).  Can you spot the flies on the surface of the water?


Every now and then, the phalaropes would wake up, reach out, and snatch up a nearby fly.  In the picture above, the phalarope's bill reminds me of chopsticks as it delicately holds a fly.


Landscape photo, showing a phalarope using a piece of driftwood as a wind shelter.  Can you spot the phalarope?  

It's just to the left of the largest piece of driftwood in the center of the photo.  There were at least 4 phalaropes in this area that day, and each one chose a different piece of wood to shelter behind.

1 comment:

  1. Never has a predator prey interaction seemed so dreamy.

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