By Mia McPherson, on April 13th, 2012%  American Oystercatcher - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light These two photos are of the same adult American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) in sequential order taken at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida. I was laying in the sand while I created the images to get a low angle and the bird was on a ridge elevated slightly higher than my location. I had beautiful light and did not need to use any exposure compensation to have nice details in the darks and the whites.
When photographing with waves in the background a split second can matter because of the fluid movements of the incoming waves. In this frame the closest wave is just about to crest thus it created the darker horizontal band of sea green just below the body of the Oystercatcher.
 American Oystercatcher - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light In this next frame the wave had crested and rushed towards the shoreline creating a smoother blue background without the sea green horizontal band.
Is one background better than the other? Personally I don’t think so, I find them both visually appealing. It is just a matter of personal taste.
Mia
More American Oystercatcher images
By Mia McPherson, on March 12th, 2012% I’ve always liked this photo because it shows how this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is using its long bill to pry open a shell. (photographed at Fort De Soto County Park, Florida)
 American Oystercatcher prying a shell open - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light The tip of the bill is squared off and thin and as it gets thicker towards the top it makes a nice wedge for opening the shells so the bird can get to the mollusk inside.
Mia
More American Oystercatcher images
By Mia McPherson, on February 27th, 2012% Because I am a bird photographer I get to see and photograph our beautiful feathered friends, learn their habits and behaviors and sometimes I get to take a look at unusual conditions in the birds themselves.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) composite with blown eye
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron above exhibits what I and other bird photographers have come to call “blown eye“. Both of the images are photos of the same bird and the right eye frame at the top is normal. The second image shows two tear drop shaped black blobs in the iris which is abnormal. I don’t know if this was caused by an injury or if this might be a congenital condition.
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) composite with blown eye
While I lived in Florida I often noticed “blown eyes” in American Oystercatchers and I have seen it where it was evident in both eyes of adult birds. The juvenile Oystercatchers have dark irises and it might be difficult to detect if their eyes are “blown” without getting images that are lit well and close up. These images of of two different birds that were a mated pair.
I recently read about a congenital condition in humans called “iris colobomas” which is also found in other mammals and birds and have begun to wonder if that might not be the cause of the abnormal pupils I see in some species of birds instead of an injury to the eye.
 Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) composite with blown eye
The top Great Horned Owl (photographed in Utah) in the composite above has normal eyes, the difference in the size of the pupils is caused by the angle of light dilating the pupils differently. The Great Horned Owl (photographed in Montana) shows a left “blown” eye. To me it looks like the pupil has leaked into the iris.
I’ve seen this condition in the species I have shown in my images and I’ve also seen it occur in Bald Eagles.
None of the birds I have photographed with blown eyes appear to have any difficulty seeing and it doesn’t seem to limit their ability to stalk or hunt prey. The Yellow-crowned Night Heron in the image above stalked, captured and ate three Ghost Crabs while I observed and photographed it. American Oystercatchers probe for their prey and none of the birds with blown eye that I observed exhibited any more difficulty in locating food than the adults nearby that did not have this condition. The Great Horned Owl with the blown eye was a male and the pair had three chicks and I am almost certain he had no difficulties providing food for them.
I wonder how many other species exhibit “blown eyes” and what the cause is. Injury or Congenital Defect. I would love to read additional input on this topic so please feel free to comment.
Mia
By Mia McPherson, on February 19th, 2012% I’ve been going through some of my older files and reculling them the past few days. I’ve kept far more images than I should have but I have learned a lot since those photos were taken and have become more discriminating about which files I truly want to keep. When I came across the folder these American Oystercatcher images were in I decided to share a few.
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) with Penn Shell ~ Florida
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light
I came across this Oystercatcher as it was foraging along the shoreline just beyond where the waves break. The Gulf must have been rough during the night because all kinds of shells and turtle grasses had been pushed onto the shore, because the tide was going out the shorebirds had discovered that some of the mollusks were still alive and were poking around looking for something to eat. This bird was tugging on the Penn Shell to see if the meat was still inside.
American Oystercatcher digging for prey
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
Some of the Oystercatchers were digging in the sand with their bills searching for prey that might have been covered in the sand. This bird was really getting into it!
American Oystercatcher prying open a shell
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
American Oystercatchers use their long, thin bills to pry open the shells of clams, oysters and other bivalves, the one above worked on the Calico Shell for several minutes before a rogue wave washed it back into the Gulf.
I was laying down in the wet sand with my lens about an inch from the surface of the beach when I photographed these shorebirds, one needs to watch out for those rogue waves because they don’t only wash away the bird’s prey… they can soak your lens & camera too! That never happened to me but it always pays to be cautious.
Mia
More American Oystercatcher images
By Mia McPherson, on February 13th, 2012% I’m always looking for great action or interesting poses when I am out photographing birds and usually I am not disappointed and once in a while I get some very funny images. Mondays just seem like a great day for some humor.
 Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm
I was laying in the mud of a tidal pool photographing this Roseate Spoonbill when it stretched out its bill, fluffed its feathers and it looked kind of goofy in this frame right before it shook its head.
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/180, ISO 320, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 280mm, low light
I was photographing this Long-billed Curlew as it preened on a foggy morning when it gave me this great pose.
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 4oomm
Each time I see this image I have to laugh because the pose is so funny, at least I got a catchlight in the eye!
Mia
*Click the image to view a larger version
All of these images were taken in Florida
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Photographing a Tricolored Heron from a tidal lagoon
Focusing on Wildlife Contributor
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