All three species of phalarope migrate through West Tennessee. Wilson's can be quite numerous in the spring with some counts in the hundreds. I have seen only one Red-necked, a female, in the spring but they are seen almost every year going south in the fall. Red Phalarope is the rarest of the three. In 2007, I found all three species in Shelby County, 2 at the famous "pits" and a Red floating down the Mississippi River.

All three species have been seen at one time, at the Ensley pits in the southwest most corner of TN. They all appeared one morning after a rainy night in early September. On another fall day, the Red and Red-necked were found together on Island 13 in the Mississippi River and a Wilson's was seen at Ensley that afternoon.