Rare red-necked Phalarope birds
SOME birds are so rare that I would never ever pin point where there may be a breeding success for obvious reasons, however once the young are fledged I am happy to share the news.
So let’s hear it for the Red-necked Phalarope, a small sandpiper type shorebird of the family Scolopacidae and one of the three species of phalarope in the genus Phalaropus.
It is a long distance migrant, breeding in the Arctic tundra regions of North America and Eurasia and wintering at sea on tropical oceans.
The small British population, which has recently increase to circa 60 pairs, is mainly confined to the Shetland Isles and the Outer Hebrides as well as occasionally breeding on the Scottish Mainland.
The male red-necked phalarope is a proper hands-on Dad, always busy with the household chores, including sitting on the eggs and tending the young while the missus swans off in all her finery and not only will she leave him to do the lot, she will also try and find another mate and have more kids elsewhere
And it gets worse: she gets to do all the singing and courtship displays, chases the males and competes with other females for a breeding territory, and top of that she is by the best looking.
Of course, the female lays the eggs, but that’s where her involvement stops.
The males meanwhile, are dull and drab, which at least helps with camouflage when sitting on the eggs on the ground, but then to complete the ignominy the female leaves a trail of cuckolded partners in her wake, and flies off to the tropical oceans to spend the winter feeding on plankton far out at sea.
For a bird which weighs little more than a house sparrow, it’s quite an extreme lifestyle.
There is a small population in Scotland, you can see them at RSPB nature reserves on the Isle of Lewis, and the Fetlar on Shetland.
The island’s fertile soils and green landscape have led to its reputation as the Garden of Shetland.
This rich natural heritage, along with the strong sense of community in Fetlar, has made the island attractive to generations of visitors.
A persistent tradition says that Gruting in Fetlar was the site of the first Norse landing in the west.
Wandering through the different parts of the island, visitors can trace the occupation of Fetlar from the Stone Age, through the Picts and the Norse, to the more recent past when townships of people were evicted by the laird to make room for sheep.
The Clearances left vast uninhabited areas and ruined croft houses, once the homes of hundreds of people and even today a source of sadness, but now provide a rich and varied landscape of ancient sites, exquisite flowers and habitats for ground-nesting birds.
Particular beauty spots are Tresta Beach on the west side of the island, Urie and Gruting in the north, the Sand of Sand near Brough Lodge and Funzie in the east.
Fetlar, which also hosted breeding snowy owls back in 1968, boasts over 90 per cent of the entire British breeding population of red-necked pharalope and is well worth a visit.
It’s pretty amazing to think that this tiny breeding population, of around 12 pairs, returns to Fetlar every summer to a mere handful of moorland pools and mires.
They were once confined to several peaty moorland mires and could be seen swimming between flooded trenches where peats were being cut, no doubt how they earned their local name, ‘peerie deuck’ or small duck.
These days it is a little different with some locals making a living from showing tourists the delights of the island, including a good friend of mine, Brydon Thomasson, an ace tour guide who always gets his bird.
Brydon runs a specialist wildlife guiding service that focuses on all aspects of Shetland’s exhilarating natural history for individuals, couples or small groups, specialising in otter watching, bird watching, wild flowers, boat trips and much more.
Having lived in the Shetland all his life, Brydon is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable naturalists in the isles.
He welcomes any questions or comments on his monthly nature diary.
For any further information, please email Brydon on info@shetland nature.net or visit the website at www. shetlandnature.net.