Wilson's phalarope

Wilson's phalaropes feed in a way most shorebirds do not. A bird swims in tight circles, and the whirlpool lifts small invertebrates toward the surface, where it picks them out. At saline lakes like Great Salt Lake, flocks gather in the productive water to feed and build energy for the long flight to South America.

The sexes reverse the usual roles. The female is larger and more brightly colored, courts males and may mate with several in a season; the male incubates the eggs and raises the young. Females are often the first to reach saline lakes after laying, with males following weeks later, so the same lake can hold birds in different stages of the same annual cycle.

Plumage changes with the season, and a drab fall bird can look nothing like a spring photograph. Compare structure and behavior, such as the needle bill and the spinning, with a field guide. Phalaropes feed in open water or at the edge of it, so a spotting scope from a public shoreline or viewing area is the right tool; flushing a flock costs birds energy that they are saving for migration.

Slender needle bill; breeding females show a dark stripe through the eye and down the neck, while fall birds are plain gray and white.

Bear River refuge lists it as a priority species; the lake's role as a stopover is the conservation story.

Watch from public shorelines and viewing areas with a scope, and do not push flocks off the water.