{"id":21003,"date":"2015-03-21T05:54:10","date_gmt":"2015-03-21T11:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=21003"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:28:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T00:28:06","slug":"greater-yellowlegs-at-the-wrack-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/03\/21\/greater-yellowlegs-at-the-wrack-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Yellowlegs At The Wrack Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreaterGreater Yellowlegs at the wrack line – Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1\/350, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Shorebirds are making their way back to Utah. This week I saw my first Long-billed Curlews and a large flock of American Avocets on the wing. Other shorebirds aren’t far behind them. Some will stay and nest here and raise their young in the marshes and grasslands while others will head further north to nest in the taiga and tundra of the far north.<\/p>\n

This Greater Yellowlegs was photographed in Florida on its wintering grounds along the Gulf Coast<\/span><\/a>. Soon thousands upon thousands of these yellow-legged shorebirds and other shorebird species will head through Utah on their way to their nesting grounds. I will see, hear, and photograph them in the marshes and wetlands that surround the Great Salt Lake.<\/p>\n

I get excited when spring arrives in Utah and the shorebirds return because they were my spark birds. They are what got me into bird photography and I am so very glad that they did.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I get excited when spring arrives in Utah and the shorebirds return because they were my spark birds, they are what got me into bird photography<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155282,"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":[27,25,704,596,2000],"tags":[4004,5229,5132,4105,4077,3997,610,530,4891,3975,274,4188,739,3996,4095,12113,815,5127],"class_list":["post-21003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-greater-yellowlegs","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-coast","tag-coastal","tag-greater-yellowlegs","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-lagoon","tag-marshes","tag-migration","tag-shore","tag-shorebird","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-shoreline","tag-tringa-melanolueca","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-wrack","tag-wrack-line","tag-yellowlegs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-wrack-line-mia-mcpherson-7978.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-5sL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45219,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/02\/25\/greater-yellowlegs-in-florida-and-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":21003,"position":0},"title":"Greater 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Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2479,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/06\/17\/friday-photos-greater-yellowlegs\/","url_meta":{"origin":21003,"position":2},"title":"Friday Photos: Greater Yellowlegs","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"When looking at a Greater Yellowlegs there is NO mistaking how they got the name \"Yellowlegs\".","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greater Yellowlegs on one leg in a lagoon at Fort De Soto, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-florida-shorebird-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-florida-shorebird-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-florida-shorebird-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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small shorebirds can bring the viewer into the birds world by being down to their level. When I photographed shorebirds in Florida I was either constantly covered in sand or mud, wet or all three.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Greater Yellowlegs at Fort De Soto\u2019s north beach, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-mia-mcpherson-2729.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-mia-mcpherson-2729.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-mia-mcpherson-2729.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-mia-mcpherson-2729.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107380,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/19\/greater-yellowlegs-trio-in-early-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":21003,"position":5},"title":"Greater Yellowlegs Trio In Early Morning Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago I saw a small flock of Greater Yellowlegs foraging, preening and resting in the wetlands in early morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greater Yellowlegs trio in morning light, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/greater-yellowlegs-trio-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0959.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/greater-yellowlegs-trio-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0959.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/greater-yellowlegs-trio-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0959.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/greater-yellowlegs-trio-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0959.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\/21003","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=21003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}