{"id":93396,"date":"2021-08-17T06:11:25","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T12:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=93396"},"modified":"2025-09-11T07:07:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T12:07:29","slug":"sharing-sunrise-with-a-greater-yellowlegs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/17\/sharing-sunrise-with-a-greater-yellowlegs\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing Sunrise With A Greater Yellowlegs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreaterGreater Yellowlegs at dawn\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/200, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When I lived in Florida it wasn’t unusual for me to share sunrise alone with birds at the north beach of Fort De Soto. Thirteen years ago I did just that with a Greater Yellowlegs. I saw the yellowlegs from the east side of the lagoon so when I reached the water I dropped to my knees and slowly moved forward towards the resting bird. The ripples on the surface of the water were created by my movement.<\/p>\n

I was soaking wet from my waist down but it felt marvelous. The morning was already hot and sultry.<\/p>\n

\"GreaterGreater Yellowlegs waking up in a still lagoon\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/180, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I moved forward inch by inch always watching the Greater Yellowlegs for signs of distress. I don’t like to disturb my subjects and I wanted to photograph the yellowlegs taking its own sweet time as it woke up to greet the day.<\/p>\n

I truly miss the way I photographed birds in Florida because I was always on foot. It was so peaceful, quiet, and relaxing. I don’t get quite the same feeling while photographing birds from a mobile blind.<\/p>\n

\"Sleepy-eyedSleepy-eyed Greater Yellowlegs \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/320, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Greater Yellowlegs<\/span><\/a> was so relaxed that it even fell asleep a few more times as I photographed it. I was thrilled and delighted to share the sunrise with this shorebird and I took many photos of it. It was a pleasure I hope that I never forget.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

When I lived in Florida it wasn’t unusual for me to share sunrise alone with birds at the north beach of Fort De Soto. Thirteen years ago I did just that with a Greater Yellowlegs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155359,"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":[27,25,704,596,2000],"tags":[4004,5229,5132,1030,4105,173,3997,274,12110,2315,465,4190,4140,5690,3996,5127],"class_list":["post-93396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-greater-yellowlegs","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-coast","tag-coastal","tag-dawn","tag-greater-yellowlegs","tag-gulf-coast","tag-lagoon","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-sleepy-eyed","tag-summer-3","tag-sun-rise","tag-sunrise","tag-tidal-lagoon","tag-tringa-melanoleuca","tag-water","tag-yellowlegs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-dawn-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-oio","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39075,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/30\/trio-of-greater-yellowlegs\/","url_meta":{"origin":93396,"position":0},"title":"Trio of Greater Yellowlegs","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When I photographed this trio of Great Yellowlegs in Florida I didn't have to worry about how far away they were, in fact at times they moved too close to me","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Trio of Greater Yellowlegs next to a lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park in Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-three-mia-mcpherson-2383.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/04\/greater-yellowlegs\/","url_meta":{"origin":93396,"position":1},"title":"Greater Yellowlegs","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Obtaining a low angle with small shorebirds can bring the viewer into the birds world by being down to their level. When I photographed shorebirds in Florida I was either constantly covered in sand or mud, wet or all three.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Greater Yellowlegs at Fort De Soto\u2019s north beach, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-mia-mcpherson-2729.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-mia-mcpherson-2729.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/greater-yellowlegs-mia-mcpherson-2729.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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