{"id":51536,"date":"2018-04-07T06:26:57","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T12:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=51536"},"modified":"2025-11-18T16:31:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T22:31:02","slug":"long-billed-curlew-foraging-on-antelope-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/04\/07\/long-billed-curlew-foraging-on-antelope-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-billed Curlew Foraging on Antelope Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Long-billed Curlew foraging on Antelope Island – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Four days ago I was able to take my first photographs of Long-billed Curlews this year on Antelope Island State Park<\/a> and although I was disappointed in the quality of most of the images I took I enjoyed seeing these large sandpipers again.<\/p>\n

It was delightful to hear the curlews calling from the ground and while they were in flight and to see several pairs of these large sandpipers as they foraged and fed.<\/p>\n

I always miss the curlews when they are gone for the winter and when they come back I get excited about observing and photographing them on their breeding grounds.<\/p>\n

Long-billed Curlews are North America\u2019s largest shorebird, they can weigh up to 1.3 pounds and be 23 inches in length with a wingspan of 35 inches.<\/p>\n

Our smallest sandpiper in North America is the Least Sandpiper that weighs about 0.7 ounces, is 6 inches in length and only has a wingspan of 13 inches.<\/p>\n

Long-billed Curlews dwarf the Least Sandpipers when they stand side by side.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to see at web-sized resolution but this male Long-billed Curlew has prey in its bill that he had snatched from the ground and the curlew swallowed the prey so quickly that I didn’t get a photo of it with the high burst rate of my D500.<\/p>\n

He opened his bill and swiftly tossed the prey down his throat.<\/p>\n

I’ve been grumbling about our gray clouds and dreary weather of the past few days and it looks like I still have today and tomorrow to get through before there is a possibility of clearer skies so I am anxious to get back out into the field again to photograph the Long-billed Curlews before the no-see-ums (biting gnats) on the island emerge.<\/p>\n

The no-see-ums are tiny, blood-sucking monsters that make people and other creatures completely miserable for a period of time on the island.<\/p>\n

Last year while they were out I tried to avoid being on the island which meant fewer images of the curlews and other birds that are migrating in now.<\/p>\n

I despise those little blood suckers but mostly I grimace through the pain they cause and continue to photograph the birds and wildlife on the island. Spring on Antelope Island is simply too spectacular to miss.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Four days ago I was able to take my first photographs of Long-billed Curlews this year on Antelope Island State Park and although I was disappointed in the quality of most of the images I took I enjoyed seeing these large sandpipers again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,199,26],"tags":[4004,514,4808,4809,11978,4136,4109,6442,4132,4062,784,4133,992,274],"class_list":["post-51536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-long-billed-curlews","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-biting-gnats","tag-curlew","tag-curlews","tag-desert-island","tag-foraging","tag-grasses","tag-largest-shorebird","tag-long-billed-curlew","tag-male","tag-no-see-ums","tag-numenius-americanus","tag-sandpipers","tag-shorebirds-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t