Grey Phalarope

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Grey Phalarope in the UK

Grey Phalarope is a scarce passage migrant in the UK. It breeds in the high Arctic and spends the rest of the year at sea, so birds seen here are passing offshore or have been blown in. Numbers vary a lot from year to year: usually in the low hundreds, many more after severe autumn storms. Most records fall between mid-September and December, with a few in midwinter and very few in spring. It does not breed here. Winter records have become more widespread since the 1980s.

Where and when to see a Grey Phalarope

Seawatch from west-facing headlands in Cornwall, Devon, Wales and western Scotland during and just after strong westerly gales, from September to November. After a big blow birds can turn up anywhere: sheltered bays, harbours, coastal pools, even reservoirs and gravel pits far inland. Storm-driven birds are often tame and feed a few metres from the bank. Most stay only a day or two, so go as soon as one is reported.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Pelagic (autumn passage).
Diet: Plankton.
Field note: Spins on water.

How to identify a Grey Phalarope

A small wader about the size of a Dunlin that swims like a tiny gull, riding high on the water and spinning to stir up food. In Britain almost all are in grey and white plumage: plain pale grey back, white underparts, a black patch through and behind the eye and a dark patch on the rear crown. The bill is short, fairly thick and blunt, often yellowish at the base. First-winter birds keep some dark feathers on the back and wings. In flight it shows a white wing-bar. Brick-red breeding adults are very rare here.

Call and song

A sharp, high 'pik' in flight, a little like a Sanderling. Most birds seen in Britain are silent, so do not rely on call to find one. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Red-necked Phalarope: Red-necked is smaller with a needle-fine, all-black bill, and autumn juveniles have a dark back with buff stripes, not plain grey.
• Sanderling: A winter Sanderling is just as pale but runs along beaches, does not swim and lacks the black eye patch.

Related guide Bird migration in Britain.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Grey Phalarope is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Red-necked PhalaropeRare · Shetland pools (summer)
• Wilson's PhalaropeEpic · Pools (very rare)
• Wilson's Storm PetrelRare · Pelagic (autumn passage)
• American Golden PloverRare · Coastal turf (autumn passage)
• Buff-breasted SandpiperRare · Short grass (autumn passage)
• Curlew SandpiperRare · Estuaries (autumn passage)

Grey Phalarope: quick answers

When is the best time to see Grey Phalarope?

Late September to early November, within a day or two of a deep Atlantic low. Watch the forecast for strong westerlies, then check the coast or your local reservoir the next morning.

Is the Grey Phalarope rare in the UK?

Scarce is the better word. Some pass offshore every autumn, but most stay out of sight at sea. How many are seen from land depends almost entirely on the weather, so one autumn can produce ten times as many as the next.

What does a Grey Phalarope eat?

Tiny animals picked from the water surface: plankton at sea, and insects and their larvae on inland pools. The spinning is a feeding method. It draws food up from below so the bird can peck it off the top.

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