{"id":40511,"date":"2016-07-13T03:40:01","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T09:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=40511"},"modified":"2022-08-23T04:30:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T10:30:21","slug":"wilsons-phalarope-chick-at-red-rock-lakes-nwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/07\/13\/wilsons-phalarope-chick-at-red-rock-lakes-nwr\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilson’s Phalarope Chick at Red Rock Lakes NWR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wilson'sWilson’s Phalarope chick hunting for prey – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m camping in Idaho but I can’t resist heading to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana when I am this close so yesterday morning that is what I did. I always like to check out the dam at the Lower Lake campground and I am very glad I did because there were plenty of birds in the alkali ponds near the dam and some of them even hung around to be photographed.<\/p>\n

When I spotted a chick coming out from behind some vegetation I started photographing it immediately without even being sure what species it was because I knew the chick might have disappeared right away so I just locked onto it and fired away. I wanted some documentation images. Once I figured out that it wasn’t going to disappear immediately then I started looking at it more carefully and noticed the scalloped feathers on its back and it began to dawn on me what species the chick belonged to.<\/p>\n

\"Wilson'sWilson’s Phalarope chick in pond – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was photographing a Wilson’s Phalarope chick and it was in fact the youngest phalarope chick I had ever seen!<\/p>\n

Now I must also admit I had some feathered help with the ID in the form of the adult Wilson’s Phalaropes that were nearby and the fact that a male Wilson’s Phalarope was staying fairly close to the chick. Female Wilson’s Phalaropes leave the males to do the incubation, brooding and rearing so seeing a male near the chick made a lot of sense to me as far as the ID goes.<\/p>\n

I could have danced down the road after the chick finally disappeared into the vegetation I was so happy!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Wilson\u2019s Phalarope photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was photographing a Wilson’s Phalarope chick and it was in fact the youngest phalarope chick I had ever seen!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1513,27,223,12,1140],"tags":[5284,5285,4134,4136,3970,4071,3824,4287,4106,274,2442],"class_list":["post-40511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-wilsons-phalaropes","tag-alkali-flats","tag-alkali-pond","tag-chick","tag-foraging","tag-hunting","tag-juvenile","tag-phalaropes","tag-phalaropus-tricolor","tag-prey","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-wilsons-phalarope"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/wilsons-phalarope-chick-montana-mia-mcpherson-3172.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-axp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25504,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/06\/16\/a-wilsons-phalarope-and-a-midge-at-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":40511,"position":0},"title":"Wilson’s Phalarope And A Midge At Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On my recent trip to Idaho and Montana I didn't have many opportunities with Wilson's Phalaropes except for one at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge's Lower Lake.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wilson's Phalarope and a Midge, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/wilsons-phalarope-midge-mia-mcpherson-5648.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/wilsons-phalarope-midge-mia-mcpherson-5648.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Least Sandpiper with a mud-covered foot, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-female-alkali-pond-mia-mcpherson-4314.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-female-alkali-pond-mia-mcpherson-4314.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-female-alkali-pond-mia-mcpherson-4314.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/least-sandpiper-female-alkali-pond-mia-mcpherson-4314.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-rain-storm-mia-mcpherson-6246.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-rain-storm-mia-mcpherson-6246.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-rain-storm-mia-mcpherson-6246.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-rain-storm-mia-mcpherson-6246.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3928,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/12\/31\/a-rainbow-and-wilsons-phalaropes\/","url_meta":{"origin":40511,"position":3},"title":"Rainbow and Wilson’s Phalaropes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"As 2011 comes to a close and 2012 is just hours away , I wanted to do one more blog post for the year.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flock of Wilson\u2019s Phalaropes in a rainstorm with a rainbow, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-flock-rainbow-flight-mia-mcpherson-6344.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-flock-rainbow-flight-mia-mcpherson-6344.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Wilson\u2019s Phalarope foraging, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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