{"id":13376,"date":"2014-01-13T04:28:51","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T10:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=13376"},"modified":"2025-11-13T18:27:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:27:58","slug":"willet-delight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/13\/willet-delight\/","title":{"rendered":"Willet Delight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-13375 size-full\" title=\"Willet delight, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27590%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20590%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27590%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/willet-early-morning-mia-mcpherson-0746.jpg\" alt=\"Willet Delight\" width=\"850\" height=\"590\" data-id=\"13375\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Willet delight &#8211; Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For those of us; including myself, who are tired of gray, cold days I thought this\u00a0Willet photographed in Florida might delight in the sweet light, sea foam and warm <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gulf_of_Mexico\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Gulf<\/span><\/a> waters the image contains. Just looking at it took me back to the morning I created it and the memories of the wet sand I was laying on, the strong sea breeze coming in from the west, the sound of the waves rushing onto the\u00a0shore\u00a0and the salty tang in the air.<\/p>\n<p>Willet delight or won&#8217;t it?<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/willet-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Willet photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For those of us; including myself, who are tired of gray, cold days I thought this Willet photographed in Florida might delight in the sweet light, sea foam and warm Gulf waters the image contains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163586,"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":[27,25,704,2000,308],"tags":[4004,5229,5132,4077,3521,992,4374,4891,274,9122,4168,4119,4047,4748],"class_list":["post-13376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-willets","tag-adult","tag-coast","tag-coastal","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-sandpiper","tag-sandpipers","tag-sea-foam","tag-shore","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-sweet-light","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-waves","tag-willet","tag-willets"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-early-morning-mia-mcpherson-0746.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3tK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138985,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/27\/willet-and-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","url_meta":{"origin":13376,"position":0},"title":"Willet And The Gulf Of Mexico","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Florida&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/florida\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willet with waves coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5339,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/07\/16\/willet-in-the-surf-of-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","url_meta":{"origin":13376,"position":1},"title":"Willet in the surf of the Gulf of Mexico","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Getting \"Down & Dirty\" pays off when photographing shorebirds like this Willet in the surf I photographed in Florida as it walked along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willet walking in the surf, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-mia-mcpherson-5238.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-mia-mcpherson-5238.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-mia-mcpherson-5238.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-mia-mcpherson-5238.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4903,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/05\/03\/willets-in-utah-and-florida\/","url_meta":{"origin":13376,"position":2},"title":"Willets &#8211; In Utah and Florida","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Willets have returned to Utah, on the causeway to Antelope Island hundreds of them can be seen in the shallow water. They seem to spend some time there fattening up after migration before they get down to the serious business of mating and rearing their young.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willet with waves at sunrise, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14726,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/04\/09\/our-willets-have-returned\/","url_meta":{"origin":13376,"position":3},"title":"Our Willets Have Returned","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday for the first time this season I saw and heard Willets on Antelope Island State Park.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willet foraging in the Gulf of Mexico, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7950,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/26\/willet-in-flight-at-first-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":13376,"position":4},"title":"Willet In Flight At First Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Early morning light is a delight and adds a nice mood to images like this one of a Willet in flight.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willet in flight at first light, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-flight-first-light-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-flight-first-light-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-flight-first-light-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-flight-first-light-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26096,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/07\/03\/shades-of-blue-and-a-willet-too\/","url_meta":{"origin":13376,"position":5},"title":"Shades of Blue and a Willet Too","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As we go into a holiday weekend filled with loud noises and flashes of fireworks I wanted to share something more peaceful, a simple image of a Willet walking on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shades of blue and a Willet too, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-shades-of-blue-mia-mcpherson-8955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-shades-of-blue-mia-mcpherson-8955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-shades-of-blue-mia-mcpherson-8955.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-shades-of-blue-mia-mcpherson-8955.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\/13376","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=13376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}