{"id":6294,"date":"2012-10-07T05:04:21","date_gmt":"2012-10-07T11:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=6294"},"modified":"2025-07-30T05:27:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T10:27:03","slug":"eastern-and-western-willets-in-breeding-plumage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/07\/eastern-and-western-willets-in-breeding-plumage\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastern And Western Willets In Breeding Plumage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EasternEastern Willet in breeding plumage – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve had the good fortune to photograph both the eastern and western Willets in breeding plumage, the eastern in Florida and the western in Utah and Montana.<\/p>\n

The image above shows the eastern subspecies;\u00a0Tringa semipalmata semipalmata<\/em>, in breeding plumage. This bird and another successfully reared young at Fort De Soto’s north beach<\/a> in 2009. This bird is perched on a White Mangrove on June 21, 2009.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Willet in breeding plumage – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This image shows the western subspecies;\u00a0Tringa semipalmata inornata<\/em>, in breeding plumage perched on rabbitbrush on Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a> on June 6, 2012.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to see the differences in the two subspecies but close observation shows that the bill of the eastern subspecies is thicker than the western and the bill of the western is slightly longer. The plumage patterns are also slightly different plus the white around the eye of the western seems more pronounced.<\/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":"

I’ve had the good fortune to photograph both the eastern and western Willets in breeding plumage, the eastern in Florida and the western in Utah and Montana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151088,"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":[511,27,1022,25,704,2000,26,308],"tags":[4004,4053,4982,4827,5348,4258,4289,992,274,5422,4168,11478,11477,5349,4325,4047],"class_list":["post-6294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-utah","category-willets","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-comparison","tag-differences","tag-eastern-willet","tag-mangroves","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-sandpipers","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-subspecies","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-tringa-semipalmata-inornata","tag-tringa-semipalmata-semipalmata","tag-western-willet","tag-white-mangrove","tag-willet"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-eastern-breeding-mia-mcpherson-7007.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1Dw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44515,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/21\/possible-eastern-and-western-willet-split-in-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":6294,"position":0},"title":"Possible Eastern and Western Willet Split in 2017","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The question regarding this proposal is... Willet happen?","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":"Eastern Willet in flight, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.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":6294,"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":21389,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/06\/listening-for-willets\/","url_meta":{"origin":6294,"position":2},"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":8452,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/28\/eastern-willet-in-flight-at-fort-de-soto\/","url_meta":{"origin":6294,"position":3},"title":"Eastern Willet in flight at Fort De Soto","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There are two subspecies of Willets which Western and Eastern, here in Utah I only see the Western subspecies but in Florida I could see both during the course of a year.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Willet in flight, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/willet-eastern-flying-gulf-mia-mcpherson-4377.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25089,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/06\/06\/western-willets-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":6294,"position":4},"title":"Western Willets on Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"There are two subspecies of Willets in North America and during the breeding season in Utah the birds we see are the Western subspecies.","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 perched high on a Greasewood, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-8773.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-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-8773.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-8773.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-8773.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47534,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/07\/02\/no-willet-split-plus-other-nerdy-bird-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":6294,"position":5},"title":"No Willet Split Plus Other Nerdy Bird News","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Just because Willets weren't split this year doesn't mean they won't be split in the future, who knows what changes will be made a year from now.","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":"Eastern and Western Willets","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-no-split-mia-mcpherson-6077.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-no-split-mia-mcpherson-6077.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-no-split-mia-mcpherson-6077.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-no-split-mia-mcpherson-6077.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\/6294","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=6294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}