{"id":70263,"date":"2020-05-27T06:09:13","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T12:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=70263"},"modified":"2025-11-18T17:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:09:05","slug":"sunrise-with-a-long-billed-curlew-in-a-florida-lagoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/27\/sunrise-with-a-long-billed-curlew-in-a-florida-lagoon\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunrise with a Long-billed Curlew In A Florida Lagoon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SunriseSunrise with a Long-billed Curlew – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

So far this year I have taken two cruddy photos of Long-billed Curlews. The photos were taken after the curlews lifted off from the grasses and the engine in the vehicle I was in was still running which created softer images than I like. The curlews also had their backs to me so those two photos went into my delete bin.<\/p>\n

I was excited about the return of the Long-billed Curlews and looked forward to photographing them on Antelope Island State Park, a location where I have had my best opportunities with curlews.<\/p>\n

But then lockdowns for the Coronavirus started and because I live in Salt Lake County I couldn’t go to the park on the island because it was only opened for Davis County residents during that period.<\/p>\n

So I missed all of the curlew courtship displays, I missed opportunities to photograph them having territorial fights, mating and calling on the wing. I missed out on the best time of the year to photograph these shorebirds that nest in our grasslands.<\/p>\n

By the time the governor here in Utah lifted the restrictions and people from outside of Davis County could go back to the park the biting gnats (no-see-ums) had appeared and because of my extreme reactions to their bites and my hyperactive immune system I have had to stay away from the island.<\/p>\n

I have not been there since March 17th. Am I sad about that? A bit.<\/p>\n

But staying safe during this global pandemic has been a top priority and I haven’t wanted to risk getting a bug bite that causes a reaction so severe that I needed to head to a hospital. So I have also missed seeing the curlews with their young.<\/p>\n

I will say that my favorite and most memorable times photographing Long-billed Curlews happened while I was still living in Florida well away from their breeding grounds. One might ask why.<\/p>\n

The answer would be the intimate connection I felt with the warmth of sand, the smell of saltwater, and to my subject. When I am photographing from inside a vehicle I can feel a connection to my subjects but it simply doesn’t feel as powerful or as intimate.<\/p>\n

I photographed this first spring, immature Long-billed Curlew<\/span><\/a> on May 24, 2009 at the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park in Pinellas County, Florida as she foraged in the warm waters of a tidal lagoon.<\/p>\n

I was laying flat on the wet sand with my elbows supporting my lens as the golden light of sunrise fell on her feathers. I was definitely connected to the earth, sky, water, and her at the time.<\/p>\n

Ah, what a pleasant memory.<\/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

Tip: When using a vehicle as a mobile blind always, always<\/em> turn off the engine before raising your camera or clicking the shutter. The vibrations from the engine can and do cause soft images especially with longer focal lengths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I will say that my favorite and most memorable times photographing Long-billed Curlews happened while I was still living in Florida well away from their breeding grounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[27,25,704,199,2000],"tags":[4039,5132,4808,4809,6214,6692,4070,5047,173,4067,3997,4132,3986,4133,4017,274,3996],"class_list":["post-70263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-long-billed-curlews","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-beach","tag-coastal","tag-curlew","tag-curlews","tag-dunes","tag-early-morning-light","tag-female","tag-first-spring","tag-gulf-coast","tag-immature","tag-lagoon","tag-long-billed-curlew","tag-north-beach","tag-numenius-americanus","tag-sand","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-water"],"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