{"id":141895,"date":"2025-03-22T02:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T07:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=141895"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:16:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T17:16:21","slug":"whimbrel-memories-and-high-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/22\/whimbrel-memories-and-high-hopes\/","title":{"rendered":"Whimbrel Memories And High Hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was working on some older posts when I came across a few Whimbrel photos I\u2019d never written about before, including this one from Fort De Soto County Park.<\/p>\n

\"FortFort De Soto Whimbrel, Pinellas County, Florida \u2013 Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw my first Whimbrels in Florida at the park in April 2008. As soon as I spotted and recognized a Whimbrel, I dropped to the sand, camera in hand, and belly-crawled as close as I could to the sandpiper.<\/p>\n

By that time in my life, bird photography was second nature to me, I knew my gear inside and out, and my approach to my subjects was instinctive. Some of my photos from back then are still in demand for use and licensing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m more than happy to share some of my older photos, especially ones I haven\u2019t written about before.<\/p>\n

\"WhimbrelWhimbrel on floating seaweed at Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Florida \u2013 Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 330mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Back to the Whimbrels…<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I took this second photo at Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida in February 2009. A flock of about 25 Whimbrels was along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, and I set out to find them\u2014and I did.<\/p>\n

I had a blast photographing the Whimbrels and drove home with a big smile, sand in my shoes, and a memory card full of photos of these sandpipers.<\/p>\n

So yesterday, I checked eBird to see if there was any chance of spotting Whimbrels<\/span><\/a> here in Arkansas or over at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. It looks like my chances are better at the refuge, since they\u2019ve been seen in April and May in Sequoyah County.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t seen one since 2009, so you know I\u2019ll be keeping a lookout!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I was working on some older posts when I came across a few Whimbrel photos I\u2019d never written about before, including this one from Fort De Soto County Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25,704,468,200,2000],"tags":[4004,4039,14752,14751,5423,173,4077,996,4017,992,4524,274,165,3996,4119,202,10941,373],"class_list":["post-141895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-honeymoon-island-state-park","category-whimbrel","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-beach","tag-coastal-island","tag-coastal-key","tag-floating","tag-gulf-coast","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-numenius-hudsonicus","tag-sand","tag-sandpipers","tag-seaweed","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-spring","tag-water","tag-waves","tag-whimbrel","tag-whimbrels","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-seaweed-mia-mcpherson-2168.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-AUD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20713,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/27\/whimbrels-and-long-billed-curlews\/","url_meta":{"origin":141895,"position":0},"title":"Whimbrels and Long-billed Curlews","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When I lived in Florida I was able to see and photograph two of our largest North American shorebirds during winter which are Whimbrels and Long-billed Curlews.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long-billed Curlew and a Fiddler Crab at the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/long-billed-curlew-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6759.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/long-billed-curlew-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6759.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/long-billed-curlew-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6759.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/long-billed-curlew-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6759.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3234,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/10\/07\/whimbrels-friday-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":141895,"position":1},"title":"Whimbrels – Friday Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It didn't take long for me to check my ISO, my aperture and other techs as I dropped onto my knees before laying flat on my belly to photograph the flock of 20 or so Whimbrels.","rel":"","context":"In "Florida"","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/florida\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Whimbrel in flight over the Gulf of Mexico at Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-flight-mia-mcpherson-1826.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-flight-mia-mcpherson-1826.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-flight-mia-mcpherson-1826.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-flight-mia-mcpherson-1826.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22137,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/19\/whimbrel-threat-display\/","url_meta":{"origin":141895,"position":2},"title":"Whimbrel Threat Display","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This Whimbrel wasn't reacting to my presence when it exhibited this threat display instead it was reacting to the presence of two other Whimbrels that are outside of the frame.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Whimbrel Threat Display, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-displaying-mia-mcpherson-1987.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-displaying-mia-mcpherson-1987.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-displaying-mia-mcpherson-1987.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/whimbrel-displaying-mia-mcpherson-1987.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8201,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/25\/gulf-coast-whimbrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":141895,"position":3},"title":"Gulf Coast Whimbrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Among the shorebirds I enjoyed seeing and photographing while I lived in Florida were Whimbrels, I could see flocks of 25 or more during the winter along the coast.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Whimbrel on a floating mat of seaweed, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/whimbrel-mia-mcpherson-2165.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/whimbrel-mia-mcpherson-2165.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/whimbrel-mia-mcpherson-2165.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/whimbrel-mia-mcpherson-2165.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14602,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/23\/the-long-billed-curlews-are-back-in-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":141895,"position":4},"title":"Long-billed Curlews Are Back In Utah!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw my first of the year Long-billed Curlews two days ago on Antelope Island State Park flying overhead. They weren't close enough to photograph but I know that soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Curlew walking the shore of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-shoreline-mia-mcpherson-6031.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-shoreline-mia-mcpherson-6031.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-shoreline-mia-mcpherson-6031.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-shoreline-mia-mcpherson-6031.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1255,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/11\/10\/shorebirds-of-fort-de-soto-marbled-godwits\/","url_meta":{"origin":141895,"position":5},"title":"Shorebirds of Fort De Soto – Marbled Godwits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Marbled Godwits are graceful birds while on the ground, feeding and in flight.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwit standing out from the crowd, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.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\/141895","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=141895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}