Juvenile Wilson's PhalaropeJuvenile Wilson’s Phalarope – Nikon D810, f8, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was lovely yesterday morning and one of the nice surprises I found was this juvenile Wilson’s Phalarope on the west side of the auto tour route.

I have been seeing loads of Spotted Sandpipers and Wilson’s Phalaropes on the refuge but I haven’t been able to get close enough to them to take images but when I saw this juvenile phalarope I had to get out of my vehicle because the bird was on the passenger side and the young bird stayed put while I took quite a few images from over the hood of my Jeep. I like that I can still see downy fuzz on the back of the juvenile’s neck.

I wish I could have gotten a lower angle perspective on this young bird but I felt that if I were to have laid down on the road to do that I would have flushed the phalarope and I didn’t want to do that. The comfort of my subject is always more important than the image.

Wilson’s Phalaropes do breed in northern Utah and I suspect this juvenile maybe have been hatched on or nearby the refuge.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Wilson’s Phalarope photos plus facts and information about this species.