{"id":15657,"date":"2014-08-17T04:36:51","date_gmt":"2014-08-17T10:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15657"},"modified":"2025-08-18T06:55:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T11:55:37","slug":"the-dunlin-gets-the-worm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/08\/17\/the-dunlin-gets-the-worm\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dunlin Gets The Worm"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wanted to post a shorebird today that I haven’t posted in a while so I picked this image where the late afternoon Dunlin got the worm.<\/p>\n

\"DunlinDunlin gets the worm – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

That afternoon I was out photographing at Fort De Soto’s north beach when this Dunlin came into the lagoon and foraged in front of me as I laid at the edge of the water.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t long before the Dunlin caught the small tubeworm and I happened to snap the shutter as tiny droplets of water flew into the air after the Dunlin pulled the worm from its underwater hole.<\/p>\n

Some folks think that Dunlins are rather plain in their nonbreeding plumage (and they are compared to their breeding plumage<\/span><\/a>) but I find\u00a0this phase of\u00a0plumage to be subtly beautiful.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t uncommon for me to see and photograph Dunlins in Florida for most of the year except for a few months during their breeding season.<\/p>\n

I see Dunlins<\/span><\/a> occasionally here in Utah when they stop over on migration but they are usually too far away to capture decent images of them.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Dunlin photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

Image taken in December of 2008<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wanted to post a shorebird today that I haven’t posted in a while so I picked this image where the late afternoon Dunlin gets the worm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152599,"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":[27,232,25,704,2000],"tags":[4004,6676,970,999,5132,7380,396,13900,4620,4246,4106,2633,274,4140,2157,3996,5191],"class_list":["post-15657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-dunlins","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-afternoon","tag-autumn","tag-calidris-alpina","tag-coastal","tag-droplets","tag-dunlin","tag-dunlins","tag-fall","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-prey","tag-sea-worm","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-tidal-lagoon","tag-tubeworm","tag-water","tag-worm"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-worm-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-7911.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-44x","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5912,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/08\/16\/dunlins-in-breeding-and-nonbreeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":15657,"position":0},"title":"Dunlins In Breeding And Nonbreeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Dunlins exhibit a vast difference between nonbreeding and breeding plumage, so different that a novice birder might mistakenly believe that they were two different species.","rel":"","context":"In "Dunlins"","block_context":{"text":"Dunlins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/dunlins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dunlin in breeding plumage, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1203.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-1203.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14920,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/05\/09\/dunlins\/","url_meta":{"origin":15657,"position":1},"title":"Dunlins","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dunlins are small shorebirds that are found in North America which exhibit remarkable differences between their breeding and nonbreeding plumages.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dunlin on tidal flat, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-mia-mcpherson-nonbreeding-plumage-7903.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-mia-mcpherson-nonbreeding-plumage-7903.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-mia-mcpherson-nonbreeding-plumage-7903.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-mia-mcpherson-nonbreeding-plumage-7903.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27701,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/22\/a-bathing-dunlin-at-fort-de-soto-county-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":15657,"position":2},"title":"Bathing Dunlin At Fort De Soto County Park","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a simple image of a bathing Dunlin from May of 2009 taken at Fort De Soto County Park that brings back wonderful memories for me.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bathing Dunlin, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-bathing-mia-mcpherson-1168.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-bathing-mia-mcpherson-1168.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-bathing-mia-mcpherson-1168.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-bathing-mia-mcpherson-1168.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35182,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/01\/a-dunlin-running-along-the-shore-of-the-gulf\/","url_meta":{"origin":15657,"position":3},"title":"Dunlin Running Along The Shore Of The Gulf","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This Dunlin was just about finished molting into its breeding plumage and would have soon been on its way to the Arctic and sub-Arctic tundra to breed and raise its young.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dunlin running along the shore of the Gulf, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-honeymoon-island-mia-mcpherson-6741.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-honeymoon-island-mia-mcpherson-6741.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-honeymoon-island-mia-mcpherson-6741.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dunlin-honeymoon-island-mia-mcpherson-6741.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15456,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/25\/posts-from-the-past-shorebirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":15657,"position":4},"title":"Posts from the Past – Shorebirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am focusing on older posts that have shorebirds in them starting with Black-bellied Plovers.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-bellied Plover on a grassy dune 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-habitat-mia-mcpherson-2585.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-habitat-mia-mcpherson-2585.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-habitat-mia-mcpherson-2585.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-habitat-mia-mcpherson-2585.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7798,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/08\/marbled-godwit-on-fort-de-sotos-north-beach\/","url_meta":{"origin":15657,"position":5},"title":"Marbled Godwit On Fort De Soto’s North Beach","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Several years ago while I was photographing at Fort De Soto's beautiful north beach I saw a Marbled Godwit flying in with a dark tubeworm in its bill and took a few images of it from a distance.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwit walking on the beach, 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-1503.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-1503.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-1503.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-1503.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\/15657","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=15657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}