Spotted Sandpiper on a seawall – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
It really isn’t too hard to spot this Spotted Sandpiper on the seawall, I just thought it was a catchy title. I saw my FOY (first of year) Spotted Sandpiper this past week and that got me excited. I was able to get close up images of them in Florida during the winter but still haven’t gotten images I can be proud of with them in breeding plumage. They are back though and that gives me hope.
The image above was taken at Fort De Soto County Park towards the end of January 2009, there is a lagoon that has some rip rap type of seawall and I would find Spotted Sandpipers there until around the end of March or beginning of April.
These sandpipers have the funniest little butt-bobbing walk and yesterday I found a video that shows that butt-bobbing well, you can view it here. Let me know if you think that is the cutest walk you have seen for a sandpiper! I sure think they do.
Mia
I am behind on commenting on everyone’s blogs and behind on replying to the wonderful comments you have made on my posts, I keep thinking I will get caught up and the more I think that the behindier I get. I’m trying though.
Among the shorebirds I enjoyed seeing and photographing while I lived in Florida were Whimbrels, I could see flocks of 25 or more during the winter along the coast. There had been rough waves the day before I photographed this Whimbrel which pushed floating mats of seaweed up close to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, the Whimbrels were feeding on small crabs that were in the seaweed.
I know that Whimbrels do show up here in Utah during their migration north but I have yet to be able to get close enough to photograph them. Whimbrels breed in northern Arctic regions and can live up to 1 years. They are similar in appearance to Long-billed Curlews that I often photograph here and in Montana but bill length helps with ID. The curve of their bills matches the curve of the burrows of Fiddler Crabs, their favorite prey item.
Mia
*I am going to be away from my computer a lot until Friday, please feel free to share this post with your friends and family.
Dancing dark morph Reddish Egret – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light
These two Reddish Egrets; a dark and a white morph, were photographed on the same day at Fort De Soto’s north beach in May of 2009 and both of them were showing signs of being in breeding plumage. This dark morph wasn’t quite in full breeding plumage because the bill would be pinker and the lores a deeper blue if it were but it was close. Dark morphs are far more common than white morphs and I felt lucky to photograph both morphs on the same day.
I photographed this Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) in a tidal lagoon while sitting in the water as the bird danced around me on the hunt for prey. My Nikkor 80-400mm VR was off being repaired so that day I was using my Nikkor 70-300mm VR for all the bird images I took. This egret was so busy hunting that it paid me no mind at all as it rushed around the lagoon. There were a few times I thought the bird was going to run right into me.
I like the bird’s pose, eye contact and the action this image conveys as well as how it shows the water, shore, wrack line and the sand dune in the background.
Hunting white morph Reddish Egret – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 250mm, natural light
This white morph Reddish Egret was busy hunting in the Gulf of Mexico when I photographed it. It’s lores are a deep purplish blue and the black-tipped bill is very pink. I was sitting on the sand of the shoreline as the egret raced around trying to catch prey where the waves broke and like the dark morph, this bird all but ignored my presence.
Reddish Egrets are sometimes called “Drunken Sailors” because of their movements while hunting, they often wobble, twirl, dance and seem to stumble. It is very amusing and entertaining to see and photograph and they never failed to delight me.
Reddish Egret splashing while hunting Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
D200, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 250, 80-400mm VR at 300mm, natural light
The Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens)is one of my favorite wading birds. Standing still they are a delight to the eyes, while hunting they can perform amazing turns, twists, gallops and appear to be dancing. They are very entertaining to say the least. Reddish Egrets come in two forms, a dark form as shown in the image above and a white morph. When they are in breeding plumage as the egret is in the images I am posting today the pink bill is pronounced and there is a purplish blue by the lores.
Reddish Egret hunting by the sand dunes Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
D200, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 250, 80-400mm VR at 300mm, natural light
Reddish Egrets are endemic to the Americas, occurring year round in coastal lagoons of Florida and the Gulf Coast. They are primarily nonmigratory and are occasionally seen in California and a few other western states during the winters months.
Reddish egrets can live up to 12 years and eat small fish. They run across the waters of tidal mudflats when hunting and quite often use a method of “canopy feeding”, or forming an umbrella with their wings to create a shadow over the water and when they see small fish, they pounce.
I’ll be posting more about the Reddish Egrets later, you can count on that. I am fascinated by them.
Spotted Sandpiper on a seawall – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
