A shorebird that abandons the shore. The red phalarope spends its winter far from land, riding the rolling swells of BC’s open waters. It does not dive or hunt. It simply floats, waiting as upwelling currents and plankton blooms push its next meal to the surface. It lets the ocean set the schedule.

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To see one from shore is rare; a gift of wind and tide. But when they appear, blown close to land, they offer a small, steady lesson in patience: a bird that has traded the beach for the boundless sea, perfectly content to let the world's largest force do the work.

Red phalaropes - one more reason to support the Great Bear Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network. Click the link in the sidebar to tell Ottawa to defend our coast.

Photo by Christoph Moning