{"id":38509,"date":"2016-04-17T05:37:03","date_gmt":"2016-04-17T11:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=38509"},"modified":"2025-12-06T07:16:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:16:34","slug":"curlews-willets-and-chukars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/17\/curlews-willets-and-chukars\/","title":{"rendered":"Curlews, Willets and Chukars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew Bill-stroking behavior – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday was bright and sunny and after four days of not being in the field it felt great to be out again. I photographed Long-billed Curlews, Willets, and Chukars along with a few other birds and a Pronghorn buck. It was a beautiful spring day.<\/p>\n

This pair of Long-billed Curlews were courting, the male was Bill-stroking the female but he mustn’t have impressed her much because she walked away from him at the end and he flew away. This image shows the difference in bill size between the male (left) and female (right) nicely, the female’s bill in curlews is longer and more decurved. I will post more photos of this encounter later.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Willet on rabbitbrush – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’d photographed my first of the year Willets last week but the light was poor so getting this one in bright sun on a spring day make me happy. It was a bit breezy yesterday morning and a gust had knocked the Willet off balance slightly and in the frame it was getting its balance back.<\/p>\n

\"ChukarChukar eating grass – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn’t see many Chukars yesterday but this one was on the ground eating fresh spring grasses with a bit of the grass stuck on its bill.<\/p>\n

There are more birds and water along the causeway to the island than I have seen in some time. It looks like spring is in full swing.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird photos in their galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I photographed Long-billed Curlews, Willets and Chukars along with a few other birds and a Pronghorn buck. It was a beautiful spring day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164051,"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":[511,27,442,1022,199,26,308],"tags":[4146,5099,445,4286,3747,4132,4133,4289,165,4168,4047],"class_list":["post-38509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-chukars","category-davis-county-utah","category-long-billed-curlews","category-utah","category-willets","tag-alectoris-chukar","tag-bill-stroking-behavior","tag-chukar","tag-eating","tag-grass","tag-long-billed-curlew","tag-numenius-americanus","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-spring","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-willet"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlews-courting-mia-mcpherson-6886.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-a17","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8152,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/20\/a-simple-long-billed-curlew-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":38509,"position":0},"title":"Simple Long-billed Curlew Post","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is just a simple Long-billed Curlew post with images I took not long before I discovered the Mountain Plovers on April 10th on Antelope Island State Park.","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":"Long-billed Curlew about to lift off, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/long-billed-curlew-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-5617.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/long-billed-curlew-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-5617.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday on Antelope Island State Park I witnessed and photographed a territorial encounter between two Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) males that occurred while a female was nearby.","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":"Long-billed Curlew Appeasement behavior on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-fight-mia-mcpherson-3803.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-fight-mia-mcpherson-3803.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Am I talking about perches that are man-made and ugly? Or perches that are just not all that appealing visually?","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":"Long-billed Curlew on a bison poop perch, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-poop-mia-mcpherson-3879.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-poop-mia-mcpherson-3879.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-poop-mia-mcpherson-3879.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The first of March always makes me think of and listen for Long-billed Curlews, our largest shorebird of North America.","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":"Male Long-billed Curlew in spring grasses, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0324.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-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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