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The Red-Necked Phalarope breeds at northern latitudes and winters at sea, but some individuals pass through interior North America or near-shore marine habitats during migration where they can be surveyed. Large numbers (upwards of 45,000) have been observed at stopover sites in the Canadian prairies, but long-term trend data do not exist (COSEWIC 2014a). Annual counts since 2014 at Chaplin and Reed Lakes, Saskatchewan, show that numbers can fluctuate widely from year to year (A. McKellar, ECCC, pers. comm.). In the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine area, Red-Necked Phalaropes were present in the millions around 1970 (e.g., up to 3 million at Pasamaquoddy Bay; Finch et al. 1978) and were still abundant in the early 1980s (e.g., 1 million at Quoddy Bay; Mercier and Gaskin 1985). By 1990, however, they had largely disappeared from the area (Duncan 1996). Some have recently returned, but numbers have not regained the levels once observed. However, the possibility cannot be ruled out that these apparent declines represent a redistribution; Red-necked Phalaropes may be more numerous on the Nova Scotia side of Fundy now versus the 1970s (J. Chardine, ECCC, pers. comm.). At La Perouse Bay, Nunavut, on the breeding grounds, the species decreased in abundance by at least 94% between 1980 and 1993 (Gratto-Trevor 1994, Rubega et al. 2000). This fragmentary information suggests decreases in the population relative to about 1970, but because not all stopover locations for phalaropes are known or adequately monitored, the population status remains difficult to assess; the species is considered to be data deficient. Future assessments of status may be improved when results from the Arctic Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (Arctic PRISM) become available, though about half of the species' breeding range occurs outside of the Arctic. Because of the lack of information, a national population goal for the Red-Necked Phalarope has not yet been determined.
