{"id":57370,"date":"2019-04-21T05:40:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T11:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=57370"},"modified":"2025-11-14T08:45:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:45:02","slug":"photographing-a-calling-willet-on-a-rocky-hillside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/04\/21\/photographing-a-calling-willet-on-a-rocky-hillside\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographing A Calling Willet On A Rocky Hillside"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CallingCalling Willet on a rocky hillside – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a pleasure for me to see and photograph a Willet two days ago on Antelope Island State Park and this Willet even started calling which made it even more of a pleasure for me.<\/p>\n

Shorebirds have always been a favorite subject for me so it is always a thrill for me to have one in my viewfinder. The Willets have only recently returned to northern Utah and this one may have been calling in the hopes of finding a mate to breed with.<\/p>\n

Last year I didn’t photograph much on the island after the biting gnats (no-see-ums) emerged so I missed out on taking many images of the Willets while they displayed and nested. The biting gnats have emerged again so it may be a while before I go back to Antelope Island because I have really bad reactions to their bites. Once our temps reach the mid 90’s for a few days in a row the biting gnats will disappear but until then it is not healthy for me to be out there.<\/p>\n

This Willet didn’t stick around very long, I’d only taken about 50 images of it before it flew up the rocky slope and called some more from a higher elevation. Our Western Willets prefer grasslands and prairies as their breeding grounds and Antelope Island has plenty of undisturbed grassy areas for them to nest in where they can raise their young.<\/p>\n

I sure love hearing the Willets call<\/span><\/a> and seeing them flash their wings while they work on attracting mates. It is a good thing I know of other places where I can see and photograph them where I don’t have to unwillingly donate my blood to biting gnats.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

It was a pleasure for me to see and photograph a Willet two days ago on Antelope Island State Park and this Willet even started calling which made it even more of a pleasure for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[511,27,1022,26,308],"tags":[4004,514,4072,784,8301,8300,4921,992,274,165,4168,11478,5349,4047,4748],"class_list":["post-57370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","category-willets","tag-adult","tag-biting-gnats","tag-calling","tag-no-see-ums","tag-photograph","tag-photographing","tag-rock","tag-sandpipers","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-spring","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-tringa-semipalmata-inornata","tag-western-willet","tag-willet","tag-willets"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-calling-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-2081.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-eVk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4903,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/05\/03\/willets-in-utah-and-florida\/","url_meta":{"origin":57370,"position":0},"title":"Willets – In Utah and Florida","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Willets have returned to Utah, on the causeway to Antelope Island hundreds of them can be seen in the shallow water. They seem to spend some time there fattening up after migration before they get down to the serious business of mating and rearing their young.","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":"Willet with waves at sunrise, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-waves-mia-mcpherson-8979.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138985,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/27\/willet-and-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","url_meta":{"origin":57370,"position":1},"title":"Willet And The Gulf Of Mexico","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I dug way back into my archives for this photo of a Willet with waves rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico, taken in 2008 at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida.","rel":"","context":"In "Florida"","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/florida\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willet with waves coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willet-gulf-of-mexico-mia-mcpherson-8966.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57053,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/04\/03\/i-swear-i-heard-a-willet-calling-two-days-ago\/","url_meta":{"origin":57370,"position":2},"title":"I Swear I Heard A Willet Calling Two Days Ago","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"While looking for Sage Thrashers to photograph on Antelope Island two days ago I swear I heard a Willet call. It was just one distant call but my ears perked up right away.","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":"Alert Western Willet on a white rock, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-alert-white-rock-mia-mcpherson-9483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-alert-white-rock-mia-mcpherson-9483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-alert-white-rock-mia-mcpherson-9483.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-alert-white-rock-mia-mcpherson-9483.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21389,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/06\/listening-for-willets\/","url_meta":{"origin":57370,"position":3},"title":"Listening For Willets","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I have often written how I long to hear the first Long-billed Curlew in the spring but I feel I should mention that I also anxiously await the first calls of migrating Willets too.","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":"Western Willet in morning light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-western-mia-mcpherson-1931.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-western-mia-mcpherson-1931.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-western-mia-mcpherson-1931.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-western-mia-mcpherson-1931.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14746,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/04\/13\/a-willet-and-redstem-filaree\/","url_meta":{"origin":57370,"position":4},"title":"Willet and Redstem Filaree","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago I was able to photograph a Willet on Antelope Island calling from some rocks and foraging in the grasses and blooming Redstem Filaree.","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":"Willet and filaree, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-western-mia-mcpherson-3670.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-western-mia-mcpherson-3670.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-western-mia-mcpherson-3670.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8217,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/27\/the-willets-and-biting-gnats-are-back-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":57370,"position":5},"title":"The Willets And Biting Gnats Are Back On Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Willets are moving into their nesting territory on Antelope Island State Park and I am excited about that. What I am not excited about is that the biting gnats (no-see-ums) are back too.","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":"Willet lifting off near White Rock Bay, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/willet-flight-mia-mcpherson-9650.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/willet-flight-mia-mcpherson-9650.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/willet-flight-mia-mcpherson-9650.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/willet-flight-mia-mcpherson-9650.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\/57370","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=57370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}