snowy plover

The Ant Slaying Snowy Plover

By Mia McPherson, on November 18th, 2012%

The Ant and the Snowy Plover – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, prey provided by the bird

While photographing this Snowy Plover in June of 2008 I was able to observe the tiny shorebird snatch an ant from the sugar sand of the north beach of Fort De Soto. I watched as the plover stuffed the ant into the sand then waited a few seconds and then the bird removed the ant from the sand and repeated the behavior several times before scarfing the ant down. To this day I am still not sure why the Snowy Plover did what it did but I do know that while watching it through my lens I was fascinated.

Mia

Snowy Plover

By Mia McPherson, on September 3rd, 2012%

Snowy Plover – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

A simple image of a beautiful Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrius) in a rather goofy looking pose. The plover had been preening and paused for a few frames with its tail lifted up and its eyes barely open. I couldn’t resist sharing.

Mia

Snowy Plover Resting at the Wrack Line

By Mia McPherson, on July 12th, 2011%

Resting Snowy Plover

Resting Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrius)
Pinellas County, Florida
Nikon D200, f10, 1/350, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Snowy Plovers are the smallest plover of North America and as their name implies they are very pale colored. I spotted this plover resting near the wrack line near the Gulf of Mexico during the winter and sand-crawled up close to it to get a low angle in the beautiful light. For Florida the morning was cool so the bird had its feathers fluffed up to help keep the warmth close to its body.

I know that there are those photographers who would have “cleaned up” the sand on the bill of this bird using cloning and other Photoshop techniques but I prefer to leave my images as natural as possible. The sand was there when I took this so I left it alone. Personally I think it adds interest and reality as it is.

Mia

More Snowy Plover images

Mia McPherson

By Mia McPherson, on June 14th, 2010%

Snowy Plover in early morning light

Snowy Plover in early morning light

I am a nature lover, wildlife watcher and bird photographer. Birds fascinate, delight and intrigue me which is why I devote many hours learning about them, observing their behavior and photographing them. It makes perfect sense that the more I know about each species the better my chances are for creating wonderful images of the birds because I can anticipate what they might do next.

I enjoy sharing my photos, photographic skills and techniques with those individuals who are serious about their own avian photography. I have a great amount of fun while photographing birds and yet I can still be serious about my efforts.

I am self taught and have never attended a photo workshop other than the ones I have given. I practiced a lot when first photographing birds because they are such a challenge but I enjoy the challenges. I also became efficient at self critique by removing myself emotionally from the images I create and evaluating why they work and why they don’t. As much as I hate to cull the bad images by looking at them and asking myself “what could I have done to make this shot better?” I’m able to learn from my mistakes. I feel that is very important; even critical, for my growth as a photographer.

I prefer to leave my images as close as possible to what they looked like as created, using only minimal contrast, saturation or levels adjustments along with sharpening for web presentation. I have seen too many images where the saturation and contrast levels were terribly overdone and the birds end up looking like cartoon characters because the colors are unreal. You won’t find images like that here.

I don’t “clean” up the bills when they are salt encrusted or muddy, I don’t attempt to clean bubbles off the top of water and rearrange feathers to make my images look more aesthetically pleasing. I take images in nature and nature isn’t perfect but I find it to be perfectly wonderful just the way it is.

I don’t bait birds, use set ups or call them in with sounds. I prefer to photograph birds doing what birds do and where they want to do it. I will at times take images of backyard birds near the feeders though, I’ll mention that when I post them.

On image critique forums I often see the phrase “you take what you get” , my philosophy though is “I get what I take“. I do my best in the field to create the image I am striving for and if I don’t get that image I want, you won’t see it here or on a critique forum, it will be in my delete bin.

I photograph in all kinds of light, the golden light of dawn, sunsets, low light, snowy and foggy images too. I like the challenges of those conditions and have learned to work with the light, not fight it.

I find that my photographic nature journeys bring a sense of peace and balance to my busy life and I try to show that with my images. I hope you enjoy my photos.

Mia

Email me

I’m also a monthly contributor to a great birding blog called BirdingIsFun.com.

Mia McPherson photographing shorebirds