Last week, I successfully twitched this Grey Phalarope near Leuven. At least, that is what it used to be called before the powers that be decided to adopt the American name of Red Phalarope instead. Grey makes much more sense in a European context since 99% of the birds seen here are in winter-plumage, like this bird, although my first one ever was actually a bright red female I found in West Yorkshire way back in May 1995. At the time, summer-plumaged birds were hardly even featured in British bird guides and I just didn't have a clue what it was, my most viable suggestion being a Turnstone that had fallen into a pot of red paint! I have seen red birds since, on their breeding grounds in Svalbard, but it still feels wrong to me to name it by a short-lived breeding plumage most Europeans and North Americans never see. Then again, the Red-necked Phalarope is also named after its breeding plumage so I guess it makes no sense to name one after its winter plumage and not the other. Either way, they are extremely rare inland yet it seemed to be finding plenty of insects to eat. It is only my fourth in Belgium (and the first inland), the last of which was this confiding individual at the much more usual coastal location of Ostend.
