{"id":45219,"date":"2017-02-25T06:07:30","date_gmt":"2017-02-25T13:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=45219"},"modified":"2025-02-13T10:15:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T16:15:02","slug":"greater-yellowlegs-in-florida-and-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/02\/25\/greater-yellowlegs-in-florida-and-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Yellowlegs in Florida and Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greater Yellowlegs are a medium sized shorebird with long yellow legs, long necks, white rumps and tails and long slightly decurved bills.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of Greater Yellowlegs running across the sand – Nikon D200, handheld, f9, 1\/750, ISO 320, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have photographed Greater Yellowlegs in Florida and Utah but they don’t breed in those locations, they are just migrating through or overwintering in the case of Florida. I photographed them often in Florida and not so often in Utah.<\/p>\n

\"GreaterGreater Yellowlegs at Farmington Bay WMA – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Greater Yellowlegs habitat during breeding season includes tundra, wet bogs, marshes and muskegs in Canada, southern Alaska and a tiny area in Washington State. They winter as far south as Tierra del Fuego in the southernmost part of Chile.<\/p>\n

\"GreaterGreater Yellowlegs resting in a lagoon – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/180, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In Florida I photographed Greater Yellowlegs along the Gulf coast, saltwater marshes and in lagoons. More often than not I photographed them while they were on or near the shore while I knelt low in the lagoons or saltwater marshes or by sand crawling on my belly towards them while they fed along the shoreline of the Gulf. Because I made myself “small” and low and moved towards them very slowly the yellowlegs were very relaxed in my presence sometimes to the point of falling asleep as I photographed them.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn alert Greater Yellowlegs – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Here in Utah I photograph Greater Yellowlegs most often in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and Farmington Bay WMA as they migrate through and stop over in the marshes around the Great Salt Lake to feed and rest. I usually photograph Greater Yellowlegs from inside a vehicle by using it as a mobile blind to get close to the birds because they are a bit more skittish and wary of humans here. I’ve also seen them on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake itself but the images I have taken of them there are from a long distance and thus aren’t high quality.<\/p>\n

I expect to see Greater Yellowlegs soon because they are one of the first shorebirds to migrate through Utah on their way to their breeding grounds.<\/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

I have also seen and photographed Greater Yellowlegs in Montana.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I expect to see Greater Yellowlegs soon because they are one of the first shorebirds to migrate through Utah on their way to their breeding grounds. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139850,"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":[27,1022,697,25,704,596,2000,26],"tags":[4004,4540,4039,5229,5132,4105,3997,4094,5112,4156,4148,4017,3975,274,5690,3996,4095,5127],"class_list":["post-45219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-greater-yellowlegs","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-alert","tag-beach","tag-coast","tag-coastal","tag-greater-yellowlegs","tag-lagoon","tag-marsh","tag-puddle","tag-resting","tag-running","tag-sand","tag-shorebird","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-tringa-melanoleuca","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-yellowlegs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-pair-mia-mcpherson-2386.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bLl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21003,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/03\/21\/greater-yellowlegs-at-the-wrack-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":45219,"position":0},"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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"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 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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":93396,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/17\/sharing-sunrise-with-a-greater-yellowlegs\/","url_meta":{"origin":45219,"position":3},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-dawn-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10167,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/06\/greater-yellowlegs-and-its-distorted-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":45219,"position":4},"title":"Greater Yellowlegs And Its Distorted Reflection","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I photographed two Greater Yellowlegs at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, there was snow on the ground and all around Farmington Bay the snow was falling heavily.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greater Yellowlegs and distorted reflection at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-winter-mia-mcpherson-1576.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-winter-mia-mcpherson-1576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-winter-mia-mcpherson-1576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-winter-mia-mcpherson-1576.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/04\/greater-yellowlegs\/","url_meta":{"origin":45219,"position":5},"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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45219","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=45219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}