Tringa inornata – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Prairie Willet And The Gulf Of Mexico

By Mia McPherson|January 27th, 2025|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets, Saltmarsh Willets|Tags: beach, coast, coastal, coastal island, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, morning light, Pinellas County, Prairie Willet, sand, shorebirds, summer, Tringa inornata, water, wave, waves, willet, willets|

I dug way back into my archives for this photo of a willet with waves rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico, taken in 2008 at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida.

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Prairie Willet and Redstem Filaree

By Mia McPherson|April 13th, 2014|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Prairie Willets, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, Erodium cicutarium, grasslands, pink wildflowers, Prairie Willet, Redstem Filaree, sandpipers, shorebirds, spring, Tringa inornata, wildflowers, willet, willets|

Two days ago I was able to photograph a Prairie Willet on Antelope Island calling from some rocks and foraging in the grasses and blooming Redstem Filaree.

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Our Prairie Willets Have Returned

By Mia McPherson|April 9th, 2014|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, Egmont Key State Park, Florida, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, grasses, grasslands, Gulf of Mexico, migration, Prairie Willet, prairies, rocks, sandpipers, shorebirds, Tringa inornata, water, waves, willet, willets|

Yesterday for the first time this season I saw and heard Prairie Willets on Antelope Island State Park.

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Willet Delight

By Mia McPherson|January 13th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets|Tags: adult, coast, coastal, Gulf of Mexico, Prairie Willet, sandpiper, sandpipers, sea foam, shore, shorebirds, sweet light, Tringa inornata, waves, willet, willets|

For those of us; including myself, who are tired of gray, cold days I thought this Prairie Willet photographed in Florida might delight in the sweet light, sea foam and warm Gulf waters the image contains.

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And We Have Lift Off!

By Mia McPherson|June 30th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Horned Larks, Montana, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Red-shouldered Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteo lineatus, Buteo swainsoni, Eremophila alpestris, hawk, hawks, Horned Lark, large game, lark, larks, lift off, meadowlarks, Prairie Willet, push, Red-shouldered Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, shorebirds, squat, Sturnella neglecta, Swainson's Hawk, thrust, Tringa inornata, Western Meadowlark, willet|

I wanted to share some bird lift off images today so I rounded up a few that showed different styles of lift offs.

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Juvenile Prairie Willet Looking For Prey

By Mia McPherson|June 7th, 2013|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Prairie Willets, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: immature, juvenile, lake, lake shore, Prairie Willet, sandpiper, sandpipers, shore, shorebirds, shoreline, Tringa inornata, water, willet, young|

It won't be long before I start seeing juvenile Prairie Willets that are about the size of the one pictured here.

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Prairie Willet on Antelope Island State Park

By Mia McPherson|May 23rd, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, Prairie Willet, sandpipers, shorebirds, simple, spring, Tringa inornata, willet, willets|

Just a simple Prairie Willet image today that I took on Antelope Island State Park earlier this month.

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Prairie Willets And Biting Gnats Are Back On Antelope Island

By Mia McPherson|April 27th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, alert, biting gnats, flight, fluffed up, flying, Prairie Willet, sagebrush, sandpipers, shorebirds, Tringa inornata, willet, willets|

The Prairie Willets are moving into their nesting territory on Antelope Island State Park and I am excited about that. What I am not excited about is that the biting gnats (no-see-ums) are back too.

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Soon Prairie Willets Will Be Arriving In Utah

By Mia McPherson|March 9th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding behavior, breeding season, calling, courtship display, low light, migration, Prairie Willet, rock, sandpipers, shorebirds, spring, Tringa inornata, willet, willets|

March is a month when I begin to anticipate the arrival of Prairie Willets. I've been listening carefully for them and hoping to catch sight of them along the causeway to Antelope Island any day now.

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Bird Images From Warmer Days And All At 300mm Or Less

By Mia McPherson|January 26th, 2013|Categories: Atlantic Ghost Crabs, Birds, Fish Crows, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets, Short-billed Dowitchers, Yellow-crowned Night Herons|Tags: bird photography, Corvus ossifragus, Fish Crow, Ghost Crab, Gulf of Mexico, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Limnodromus griseus, Nyctanassa violacea, Prairie Willet, Short-billed Dowitcher, Tringa inornata, willet, Yellow-crowned Night Heron|

Gray skies, freezing temps and the inversions are beginning to get to me so I thought I would share some bird images from warmer days on Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in sunny Florida.

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Saltmarsh And Prairie Willets In Breeding Plumage

By Mia McPherson|October 7th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets, Saltmarsh Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, comparison, differences, Eastern Willet, mangroves, Prairie Willet, rabbitbrush, Saltmarsh Willet, sandpipers, shorebirds, subspecies, Tringa inornata, Tringa semipalmata, Western Willet, White Mangrove, willet|

I've had the good fortune to photograph both the Saltmarsh and Prairie Willets in breeding plumage in Florida and in Utah and Montana.

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4 Years Ago Today When Hurricane Ike Stirred Things Up At Fort De Soto

By Mia McPherson|September 12th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets, Reddish Egrets, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: bird photography, Black Skimmer, Egmont Key, egret, egrets, Egretta rufescens, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, Hurricane Ike, Larus delawarensis, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Prairie Willet, Reddish Egret, Ring-billed Gull, Rynchops niger, skimmer, Tringa inornata, wading birds, waves, willet|

Four years ago today Hurricane Ike was out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and the waves that it generated made a strong splash at Fort De Soto County Park.

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Prairie Willets in Beaverhead County, Montana

By Mia McPherson|July 29th, 2012|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Montana, Prairie Willets, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, bathing, calling, immature, juvenile, lake, lake shore, lakeshore, lakeside, plumage, Prairie Willet, shorebirds, stretching, summer, Tringa inornata, valley, water, willet, willets, wing, wing lift, young|

These images were taken at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Montana. There were two juvenile Prairie Willets plus an adult on the shoreline of the lower lake that delighted me.

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Prairie Willet and Boreal Bluet Damselfly

By Mia McPherson|July 26th, 2012|Categories: Beaverhead County, Centennial Valley, Montana, Prairie Willets, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Boreal Bluet, Damselfly, damselfly nymphs, darning needle, dragonfly nymphs, Enallagma boreale, immature, juvenile, lake, lakeside, Lower Lake, Prairie Willet, sandpipers, summer, Tringa inornata, water, willet, willets, young|

On the first day of my recent trip to southwestern Montana I came across two Prairie Willets near a lake shore, one was an adult and one was a juvenile.

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Prairie Willet in the surf of the Gulf of Mexico

By Mia McPherson|July 16th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets|Tags: adult, beach, coast, coastal, crasshing waves, Down & Dirty, Gulf of Mexico, low ISO, Prairie Willet, sea foam, shorebird, shorebirds, surf, Tringa inornata, water, waves, willet, willets|

Getting "Down & Dirty" pays off when photographing shorebirds like this Prairie Willet in the surf I photographed in Florida as it walked along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.

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Plain Brown Bird?? Pfflllt…

By Mia McPherson|June 14th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, balanced, desert island, plain brown bird, Prairie Willet, rabbitbrush, sandpipers, shorebirds, spring, Tringa inornata, underside, willet, willets, wings|

I've heard people call Prairie Willets "Plain Brown Birds". I reckon they may have never seen one looking like this willet.

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Birds on Poopy Perches

By Mia McPherson|May 26th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Horned Larks, Humor, Long-billed Curlews, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: bird photography, bison poop, curlew, curlews, Eremophila alpestris, Horned Lark, humor, lark, larks, Long-billed Curlew, manure, Numenius americanus, perch, poopy, poopy perches, Prairie Willet, Tringa inornata, willet|

I bet you are wondering what I mean by "Poopy perches", I know I would be if I saw that title. Am I talking about perches that are man-made and ugly? Or perches that are just not all that appealing visually?

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Prairie Willets – In Utah and Florida

By Mia McPherson|May 3rd, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, beach, calling, coast, early morning light, grasslands, Gulf of Mexico, marshes, Prairie Willet, rabbitbrush, rock, rocks, sandpipers, sea foam, seafoam, shorebirds, stretching, tidal lagoons, Tringa inornata, water, waves, willet, willets|

In Utah I see Prairie Willets in much different habitats than I saw them in Florida, here they stand on rocks, perch precariously on shrubs, and forage in grasslands.

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Prairie Willet Resting In A Spartina Marsh

By Mia McPherson|April 4th, 2012|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Prairie Willets|Tags: adult, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, marsh, Prairie Willet, resting, sandpipers, shorebirds, spartina, spring, tidal lagoon, Tringa inornata, water, willet, willets|

My Nikkor 80-400mm VR was being repaired when I photographed this Prairie Willet and I was using my 70-300mm VR.

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One Prairie Willet’s Defense Of Its Young

By Mia McPherson|July 16th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Davis County, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, aerial defense, alarmed, Bird behavior, Black-billed Magpie, calling, chicks, defense, defensive, flight, flying, grasses, Great Salt Lake, juveniles, magpie, magpies, perched, Pica hudsonia, prairie grasses, Prairie Willet, predators, response, sandpipers, shorebirds, threat, Tringa inornata, wildlife, willet, willets, young|

Yesterday I observed an adult Prairie Willet defending its young from a group of Black-billed Magpies that were near the willet's chicks.

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Killdeer and Willets – Territorial Disputes

By Mia McPherson|June 4th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Killdeer, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: adult, adults, breeding season, Charadrius vociferus, conflict, desert island, hillside, Killdeer, nesting area, Prairie Willet, rocky outcrop, shorebird, shorebirds, spring, territorial disputes, Tringa inornata, willet, willets|

One of the habits I have developed after becoming a serious bird photographer is observing and learning about bird behavior and the habitats

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Antelope Island Gnats Are Back

By Mia McPherson|May 9th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Horned Larks, Mule Deer, Prairie Willets, Utah|Tags: biting gnats, Eremophila alpestris, gnats, Horned Lark, lark, larks, Mule Deer, no-see-ums, Odocoileus hemionus, Prairie Willet, Tringa inornata, wildlife|

I hereby put the millions of biting gnats on Antelope Island on notice: No matter how many times you break through my insect repellent shield, I am still going to photograph birds on Antelope Island.

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Auto Levels in Photoshop

By Mia McPherson|November 9th, 2010|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Prairie Willets|Tags: auto levels, lagoon, photoshop, post processing, Prairie Willet, sandpipers, shorebird, shorebirds, Tringa inornata, water, willet, willets|

Auto levels in Photoshop must be used with a light touch. Using auto levels can create too much contrast in an image, can cause color casts, it can brighten an image too much, it can strip the light and can make some images look very unnatural.

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