{"id":8533,"date":"2013-06-07T03:40:27","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T09:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8533"},"modified":"2025-11-11T17:46:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:46:26","slug":"juvenile-willet-looking-for-prey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/07\/juvenile-willet-looking-for-prey\/","title":{"rendered":"Juvenile Willet looking for prey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JuvenileJuvenile Willet on the shore of the Lower Lake<\/span><\/p>\n

It won’t be long before I start seeing juvenile Willets that are about the size of the one pictured here.<\/p>\n

This one still has a bit of down left on the back of its upper neck and its bill is slightly shorter than an adult’s.<\/p>\n

As I watched this juvenile Willet at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a> I saw it catch 2 dragonfly nymphs and eat them.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Willet photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

* I am away right now, please feel free to share this post with your family and friends. Thank you for visiting my blog!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It won’t be long before I start seeing juvenile Willets that are about the size of the one pictured here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1513,27,223,12,608,308],"tags":[4067,4071,5178,11483,3521,992,4891,274,4188,4168,11478,3996,4047,4193],"class_list":["post-8533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","category-willets","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-lake","tag-lake-shore","tag-sandpiper","tag-sandpipers","tag-shore","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-shoreline","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-tringa-semipalmata-inornata","tag-water","tag-willet","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2488.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2dD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5402,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/07\/26\/willet-boreal-bluet-damselfly\/","url_meta":{"origin":8533,"position":0},"title":"Willet and Boreal Bluet Damselfly","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"On the first day of my recent trip to southwestern Montana I came across two Willets (Tringa semipalmata) near a lake shore, one was an adult and one was a juvenile.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Willet and damselfly at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in the Centennial Valley of Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-juvenile-damselfly-mia-mcpherson-1115.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-juvenile-damselfly-mia-mcpherson-1115.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-juvenile-damselfly-mia-mcpherson-1115.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-juvenile-damselfly-mia-mcpherson-1115.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5417,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/07\/29\/willets-in-beaverhead-county-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":8533,"position":1},"title":"Willets in Beaverhead County, Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"These images were taken at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Montana. There were two juvenile Willets plus an adult on the shoreline of the lower lake that delighted me.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Willet stretching a wing at the Lower Lake of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-1383.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-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-1383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-1383.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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this season I saw and heard Willets on Antelope Island State Park.","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 foraging in 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\/11\/willet-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.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-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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