{"id":85673,"date":"2021-04-25T06:24:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-25T12:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=85673"},"modified":"2025-11-14T08:51:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:51:07","slug":"western-willet-nestled-in-sage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/25\/western-willet-nestled-in-sage\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Willet Nestled In Sage"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I was up in Box Elder County<\/span><\/a> last week I photographed my first Western Willet of the year nestled in sage with its eye on the sky for possible predators.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Willet nestled in sage \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I spotted the Willet immediately although pointing it out was a bit more challenging.<\/p>\n

Why? Because saying that the Willet was on the top of a sagebrush when there is nothing around but<\/em> sagebrush isn’t easy especially when the bird was mostly obscured by the sagebrush.<\/p>\n

I’ve been seeing Willets in flight and have heard their songs<\/span><\/a> and calls<\/span><\/a> this spring but this was my first opportunity this breeding season to have one in my viewfinder close enough to take photos of one of these sandpipers that breed and nest in the grasslands and prairies of western North America.<\/p>\n

Knowing The Birds<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A few days ago a friend sent me a photo to identify a bird perched on top of a sagebrush on Antelope Island State Park. It was a Willet. I explained that Willets can often be found perched high on sage, greasewood, and other shrubs at this time of the year.<\/p>\n

I should have also included rocks, boulders, and sign and fence posts. Willets will often call and sing from the tops of the shrubs, boulders and posts during the early part of their breeding season.<\/p>\n

I know this because I have observed Western Willets for years<\/em> which means I know where to look for them early in the breeding season. After Western Willets have nested and their young have hatched they will continue to perch on shrubs and rocks to keep an eye on their young.<\/p>\n

Only moments before I spotted this Willet out loud I had said “Watch for Willets” because I know they can be found in this area due to past experiences with them there plus I had heard some calling in the area when I went past it the first time.<\/p>\n

Knowing My Patches<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I have excellent memory recall and observation skills which is why I detected this Willet perched in this sagebrush.<\/p>\n

Even though this particular “patch” is huge I know the topography of the shrubs and bushes in it well and when something in the patch sends a trigger to my brain I immediately search for a bird or animal.<\/p>\n

The top of this sage didn’t look quite “right” to me because of the Willet in the sage.<\/p>\n

Finding birds to photograph isn’t just about having keen eyesight<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are other things involved including listening for calls and songs, knowing the birds, knowing the location, memory recall, and fine tuning my observation skills. I used them all to spot this Willet.<\/p>\n

Oh, and I don’t have my face glued to my cell phone when I am in the field. I rarely look at it at all.<\/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":"

While I was up in Box Elder County last week I photographed my first Western Willet of the year nestled in sage with its eye on the sky for possible predators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163663,"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":[27,1148,26,308],"tags":[4004,2519,4098,11479,11440,2817,4057,274,6188,165,4168,11478,4047,4748],"class_list":["post-85673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","category-willets","tag-adult","tag-artemisia-tridentata","tag-desert","tag-great-basin-sagebrush","tag-nestled","tag-sage","tag-sagebrush","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-shrub","tag-spring","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-tringa-semipalmata-inornata","tag-willet","tag-willets"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-sagebrush-eye-on-sky-mia-mcpherson-7593.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-mhP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14828,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/04\/25\/a-willet-on-a-sagebrush\/","url_meta":{"origin":85673,"position":0},"title":"Willet On A Sagebrush","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In the past 10 Days I have shared a Western Meadowlark and a Sage Thrasher perched on Sagebrush and today I am posting a Willet perched on Big Sagebrush.","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 on a sagebrush, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-8809.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-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-8809.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-8809.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/willet-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-8809.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":85673,"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":14726,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/04\/09\/our-willets-have-returned\/","url_meta":{"origin":85673,"position":2},"title":"Our Willets Have Returned","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday for the first time 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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/willet-surf-florida-mia-mcpherson-9495.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":85673,"position":3},"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":44515,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/21\/possible-eastern-and-western-willet-split-in-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":85673,"position":4},"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":8217,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/27\/the-willets-and-biting-gnats-are-back-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":85673,"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\/85673","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=85673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}