{"id":48051,"date":"2017-08-10T04:57:29","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T10:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=48051"},"modified":"2025-02-26T03:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T09:49:07","slug":"shorebirds-are-on-the-move-fall-migration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/08\/10\/shorebirds-are-on-the-move-fall-migration\/","title":{"rendered":"Shorebirds Are On The Move – Fall Migration"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Shorebirds begin their fall migration early and for those of us who live in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem that means looking for them in the marshes around the lake and on the lake itself. Right now thousands of Wilson’s Phalaropes, Black-necked Stilts, Willets, Avocets and Long-billed Curlews are feeding on the brine shrimp and brine flies to fatten up for their migration to the south.<\/p>\n

Shorebirds that breed further north are also beginning to fly in. A few days ago a friend sent me a photo to identify of a Lesser Yellowlegs she photographed recently and that made me realize that I need to start focusing on finding the migrant shorebirds.<\/p>\n

Last fall I had several good days photographing shorebirds at a flooded area at Farmington Bay WMA and I wonder if that location will be good again this year. That is where I photographed this Greater Yellowlegs as it foraged in the shallow waters near several other yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"LeastLeast Sandpiper with Duckweed – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There were also quite a few Least Sandpipers in the area, they are North America’s smallest sandpiper. There were Wilson’s Snipe hanging around too.<\/p>\n

Shorebird migration time, whether it is spring or fall, is a good time to keep an eye out for rarities, if I hadn’t been doing that I might have missed spotting Mountain Plovers<\/span><\/a> on Antelope Island a few years ago in the spring and an Upland Sandpiper<\/span><\/a> last fall on the Road to Golden Spike National Monument. I’m hoping to find a Buff-breasted Sandpiper because that would be a lifer for me. Who knows what might show up.<\/p>\n

Fall shorebird migration can be a very exciting time and I am ready for the excitement of it all and I say bring it on!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Shorebirds begin their fall migration early and for those of us who live in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem that means looking for them in the marshes around the lake and on the lake itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140948,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,596,1719,26],"tags":[4440,4488,5290,4136,3952,4105,1720,610,530,3521,992,274,5690,5127],"class_list":["post-48051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-greater-yellowlegs","category-least-sandpipers","category-utah","tag-calidris-minutilla","tag-duckweed","tag-fall-migration","tag-foraging","tag-great-salt-lake-ecosystem","tag-greater-yellowlegs","tag-least-sandpiper","tag-marshes","tag-migration","tag-sandpiper","tag-sandpipers","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-tringa-melanoleuca","tag-yellowlegs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/greater-yellowlegs-farmington-mia-mcpherson-3331.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cv1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":142947,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/17\/migrating-pectoral-sandpiper-in-oklahoma\/","url_meta":{"origin":48051,"position":0},"title":"Migrating Pectoral Sandpiper In Oklahoma","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, I was delighted to photograph a migrating Pectoral Sandpiper at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pectoral Sandpiper in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/pectoral-sandpiper-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-5647.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/pectoral-sandpiper-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-5647.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/pectoral-sandpiper-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-5647.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 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2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Shorebirds are still migrating through the Salt Lake Valley and Farmington Bay WMA and there have been quite a few Greater Yellowlegs in the area.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pair of Greater Yellowlegs in flight, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-flight-mia-mcpherson-4433.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-flight-mia-mcpherson-4433.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-flight-mia-mcpherson-4433.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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