{"id":39075,"date":"2016-04-30T05:55:19","date_gmt":"2016-04-30T11:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=39075"},"modified":"2025-09-11T05:41:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T10:41:20","slug":"trio-of-greater-yellowlegs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/30\/trio-of-greater-yellowlegs\/","title":{"rendered":"Trio of Greater Yellowlegs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Trio Trio of Greater Yellowlegs next to a lagoon – Nikon D200, handheld, f11, 1\/350, ISO 320, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve been thinking a lot about shorebird migration this past week while the dreary weather has kept me out of the field and about the birds I am missing because of the weather.<\/p>\n

I have already seen Greater Yellowlegs<\/span><\/a> at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge but haven’t been able to obtain the high quality images I would like primarily because they were a long way out and not up close. Still, it was good to see them out on the flats near puddles of rainwater.<\/p>\n

When I photographed this trio of Great Yellowlegs in Florida I didn’t have to worry about how far away they were, in fact at times they moved too close to me as I laid in the wet sand at the edge of a tidal lagoon on the Gulf coast.<\/p>\n

It was a September morning and there must have been 20 to 25 yellowlegs in the area. Some of the yellowlegs were foraging in the wrack line but this trio seemed to just be enjoying the warmth of the rising sun.<\/p>\n

With those bright yellowlegs it is easy to see how they got their common name.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

When I photographed this trio of Great Yellowlegs in Florida I didn’t have to worry about how far away they were, in fact at times they moved too close to me<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155302,"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":[5229,5132,4105,173,3997,4017,992,4891,274,4188,739,3996,5127],"class_list":["post-39075","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-coast","tag-coastal","tag-greater-yellowlegs","tag-gulf-coast","tag-lagoon","tag-sand","tag-sandpipers","tag-shore","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-shoreline","tag-tringa-melanolueca","tag-water","tag-yellowlegs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-aaf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93396,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/17\/sharing-sunrise-with-a-greater-yellowlegs\/","url_meta":{"origin":39075,"position":0},"title":"Sharing Sunrise With A Greater Yellowlegs","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When I lived in Florida it wasn't unusual for me to share sunrise alone with birds at the north beach of Fort De Soto. Thirteen years ago I did just that with a Greater Yellowlegs.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greater Yellowlegs waking up in a still lagoon, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-dawn-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-2755.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-dawn-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-dawn-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-florida-shorebird-mia-mcpherson-6366.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21003,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/03\/21\/greater-yellowlegs-at-the-wrack-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":39075,"position":2},"title":"Greater Yellowlegs At The Wrack Line","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"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","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greater Yellowlegs at the wrack line of a lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-wrack-line-mia-mcpherson-7978.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-wrack-line-mia-mcpherson-7978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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sand at the north beach of Fort De Soto, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-pair-mia-mcpherson-2386.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-pair-mia-mcpherson-2386.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-pair-mia-mcpherson-2386.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-pair-mia-mcpherson-2386.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/04\/greater-yellowlegs\/","url_meta":{"origin":39075,"position":4},"title":"Greater Yellowlegs","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Obtaining a low angle with 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":49178,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/29\/differences-in-photographing-greater-yellowlegs-in-florida-and-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":39075,"position":5},"title":"Differences in Photographing Greater Yellowlegs in Florida and Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There are big differences in the ways I photograph Greater Yellowlegs here in Utah than there were when I photographed them in Florida.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greater Yellowlegs at the south spit of the north beach of Fort De Soto, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6328.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-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6328.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6328.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-6328.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\/39075","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=39075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}