American Oystercatcher In A Tidal Lagoon
I've been working up images for a long post and this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) image is a clue as to what that post will be about.
I've been working up images for a long post and this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) image is a clue as to what that post will be about.
Short-billed Dowitchers feed on insects, crustaceans and aquatic mollusks. Quite often when I lived in Florida I would see them feeding on Coquinas which are small bivalves or tiny Fiddler Crabs.
The image above was taken at Fort De Soto on Florida's Gulf coast. The Willets there are habituated to people and because they are it is easier to approach them than it is here in Utah.
I've always liked the calm mood this image conveys partially because the stalking pose of the Great Egret (Ardea alba), the silky smooth surface of the water, the reflection and how the out of focus Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron give the frame a depth that wouldn't be there without them.
When I photographed Semipalmated Plovers in Florida I found that if I got down to their level and laid still they would approach me very closely. That takes patience but the effort is well worth it.
Obtaining a low angle with small shorebirds can bring the viewer into the birds world by being down to their level. When I photographed shorebirds in Florida I was either constantly covered in sand or mud, wet or all three.
Little Blue Herons were a wading bird that I saw often in Florida. The day I photographed this Little Blue Heron I was sitting quietly in the shallow water of a lagoon when this bird flew in and began to hunt.
This young Yellow-crowned Night Heron moved very slowly and it seemed to do that deliberately.
I know this photo will always remind me of the great times I had photographing birds at Fort De Soto, one of my favorite places on earth.