{"id":10051,"date":"2013-11-01T05:36:35","date_gmt":"2013-11-01T11:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=10051"},"modified":"2025-07-08T14:30:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:30:39","slug":"black-bellied-plover-on-a-tidal-mudflat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/01\/black-bellied-plover-on-a-tidal-mudflat\/","title":{"rendered":"Black-bellied Plover On A Tidal Mudflat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Black-belliedBlack-bellied Plover on a tidal mudflat – Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1\/250, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I love the light and the mudflat\u00a0setting I photographed this Black-bellied Plover in on a warm\u00a0April morning in Florida several years ago.<\/p>\n

There are\u00a0probably some photographers who might disagree with me about the aesthetics of the muddy setting but I think this image shows the\u00a0plover in\u00a0its natural habitat and that is what I strive for with my bird photography.<\/p>\n

Mud isn’t ugly, perhaps it is only our perception of it that is.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Black-bellied Plover photos plus facts and information about this species<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love the light and the mudflat setting I photographed this Black-bellied Plover in on a warm April morning in Florida several years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,87,25,2000],"tags":[4004,4367,14752,173,2339,519,4031,4246,4162,165,16568,102,4032],"class_list":["post-10051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-black-bellied-plovers","category-florida","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-black-bellied-plover","tag-coastal-island","tag-gulf-coast","tag-mud-flats","tag-nature","tag-nonbreeding","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-pluvialis-squatarola","tag-spring","tag-tidal-mudflat","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-photography"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2C7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4857,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/22\/black-bellied-plover-composition-is-a-matter-of-personal-taste\/","url_meta":{"origin":10051,"position":0},"title":"Black-bellied Plover – Composition is a Matter of Personal Taste","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As much as I like to compose images that are full frame I find that I often allow myself a touch of extra space around my subject so I can recompose in post processing by making different crops.","rel":"","context":"In "Black-bellied Plovers"","block_context":{"text":"Black-bellied Plovers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/black-bellied-plovers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-bellied Plover on the edge of a tidal pool, Fort De Soto County Park in Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-horizontal-mia-mcpherson-0858.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-horizontal-mia-mcpherson-0858.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-horizontal-mia-mcpherson-0858.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-horizontal-mia-mcpherson-0858.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19256,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/01\/a-few-quiet-moments-with-a-black-bellied-plover-at-low-tide\/","url_meta":{"origin":10051,"position":1},"title":"A Few Quiet Moments With A Black-bellied Plover At Low Tide","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Shorebirds. They were what sparked my passion for bird photography. They were what drew me back to the Gulf Coast of Florida as much as I could be there.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-bellied Plover at low tide in the mudflats, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50990,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/02\/15\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-in-a-tidal-lagoon-on-the-gulf-coast\/","url_meta":{"origin":10051,"position":2},"title":"Black-bellied Plover Bathing In A Tidal Lagoon On The Gulf Coast","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"After taking the quick bath in the tidal lagoon the Black-bellied Plover flew off towards the shoreline of the lagoon to shake and fluff its feathers until they were dry.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bathing Black-bellied Plover, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4997,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/05\/15\/sidelit-piping-plover\/","url_meta":{"origin":10051,"position":3},"title":"Sidelit Piping Plover","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This Piping Plover image reminds me to try to photograph birds in other than perfect light. Sidelit and backlit images can be spectacular so I don't like passing up taking the chance that I might just get a great shot despite what some photographers think of as bad light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sidelit Piping Plover in a tidal lagoon at the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/piping-plover-sidelit-mia-mcpherson-5440.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/piping-plover-sidelit-mia-mcpherson-5440.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/piping-plover-sidelit-mia-mcpherson-5440.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/piping-plover-sidelit-mia-mcpherson-5440.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1504,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/11\/30\/black-bellied-plover\/","url_meta":{"origin":10051,"position":4},"title":"Black-bellied Plover","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I love watching Black-bellied Plovers hunting. They take a few steps, stop, look and listen, then do it all over again.","rel":"","context":"In "Black-bellied Plovers"","block_context":{"text":"Black-bellied Plovers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/black-bellied-plovers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-bellied Plover on the hunt on exposed mudflats at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15800,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/10\/wilsons-plover-at-sunrise\/","url_meta":{"origin":10051,"position":5},"title":"Wilson’s Plover at sunrise","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I was covered in mud after laying in the mudflat to photograph this Wilson's Plover and I didn't mind a bit.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wilson's Plover at sunrise","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}