Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa semipalmata: Indian Shores, Florida

     While visiting Indian Shores, Florida I found a dozen Willets busily feeding along the tide line.  They were just beautiful in the warm light of the rising sun and I could not seem to take my eyes off of them.  The Indian Shores beachfront is festooned with hotels, but the light found its way between the towering buildings at certain spots, and when the light struck the birds they became even more alive and active in their foraging.

     Though I have a thousands photos of Willets running across, standing on, flying over, and probing sandy beaches, I could not resist taking more.  Besides, the light was just beautiful, and that’s what photography is really about, light.  The low angle light was warm and direct.  As the Willet moved across the sand the light would catch the bird at just the right angle to bring out incredible detail.  And the Willet itself seemed to love the camera as it provided perfect poses, one after another.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/1,000 second @ f/8

Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa semipalmata: Fort Desoto State Park; Pinellas County, Florida

     Winter plumage Willets are quite drab, but this one put on a great show when I visited Fort Desoto State Park earlier this month.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/1600 second @ f/8

Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa semipalmata:  Indian Shores Beach, Florida

      Another Willet from my shoot on Indian Shores Beach back in early July.  This is one of two Willets that were fighting on the beach.  This Willet was chasing another, while verbally scolding it adversary.  Note the hinged tongue, it has backward-pointing papillae that ensures the food only goes in one direction.

  source:http://bushveldtrainingadventures.co.za/birds-feeding

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/2000 second @ f/8

Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa semipalmata:  Indian Shores Beach, Florida

     The Willets feeding on Indian Shores Beach a few weeks ago put on a wonderful show as they ran back and forth along the tide line.  With each pass in front of my camera they seemed to strike perfect poses with every frame I shot.  The low, bird's eye view provided a natural viewpoint, and the shallow depth-of-field isolated the Willet from its background, placing the emphasis solely on the bird.  I especially like the toes on the right leg as they stretch backwards providing a sense of movement and direction.

     The birds had no fear and seemed quite at ease in my presence as they walked within a few feet of me at times.  Often I had to stop shooting because the birds were too close. During those times I just enjoyed the birds, watching their movements, behavior and elegance.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1000 second @ f8

Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa semipalmata: Indian Shores Beach, Florida

     As mentioned in the last post, while photographing Black Skimmers I found a few Willets feeding along the waters edge.  The early morning light on the birds was perfect and I could not resist shooting as they probed the sand along the tideline.

     During one of the burst of frames I captured a confrontation between two birds.  I shot more than a dozen frames during the conflict.  This was one of my favorite images out of the series.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1600 seconds @ f8

Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa semipalmata:  Gulf Beach; Indian Shores, Florida

     While I was at the beach in Indian Shores, Florida last week shooting Black Skimmers, Willets were busily feeding along the tide line.  They were just beautiful in the warm light of the rising sun and I could not seem to take my eyes off of them.  The beachfront at Indian Shores is festooned with hotels, but the light found its way between the towering hotels at certain spots, and when the light struck the birds they became even more alive and active in their foraging.

     Though I have a thousands photos of Willets running across, standing on, flying over, and probing sandy beaches, I could not resist taking more.  Besides, the light was just beautiful, and that’s what photography is really about, light.  The low angle light was warm and direct.  As the Willet moved across the sand the light would catch the bird at just the right angle to bring out incredible detail.  And the Willet itself seemed to love the camera as it provided perfect poses, one after another.   I had an incredibly difficult time deciding which image to post as I am so please with so many of the shots.  I will post a few more, but I hope you enjoy this shot for now. 

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1600 second @ f8 

Pic of the Day

Willet, Tringa simipalmata (winter plumage):

Fort Desoto State Park; Saint Petersburg, Florida 

Willet, Tringa simipalmata (breeding plumage):

Benton Lake Nation Wildlife Refuge; Great Falls, Montana

     Note that the Willet in breeding plumage is heavily streaked on its head, neck and breast.  The winter plumage bird lacks that streaking.  A beautiful bird in both plumages.

Top Image:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/2500 second @ f9

Bottom Image:  Nikon D300, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, 1/1250 second @ f7.1

Pic of the Day

Willet: Tringa semipalmata

Long-billed Curlew: Numenius americanus (Juvenile)

Marbled Godwit: Limosa fedoa

     Willet: Tringa semipalmata and Long-billed Curlew: Numenius americanus -- Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Montana:  Benton Lank National Wildlife Refuge located just outside Great Falls, Montana, and is perhaps the best kept secret among the birding world.  My visit this past spring provided great shooting opportunities.  Willets, Long-billed curlew, and Marbled Godwits nest on the refuges' grasslands and feed on the lakes mud flats.  In one morning I was able to photograph all three species. The willet and godwit are adult birds, but judging from the length of curlews bill it must be a juvenile, as adult long-billed curlews bills are about twice the length of the one shown here.
     Benton Lake had many other species of birds that I photographed as well, some for the first time.  I’ll post some of those images at a later date.  

Pic of the Day

     Willet – Captiva Island, Florida:  While shooting shorebirds on Captiva Island, I found a flock of willets resting along the high tide mark.  With beaks tucked under wings and standing on one leg the willets were poised in a classic rest pose. 

     As I set-up my camera to shoot, an ever present beachgoer gravitated to the birds to check them out.  By the time I got the camera and lens on the tripod the birds had been disturbed and had begun moving back and forth toward the tide line.  As the birds tried to avoid the beachcomber they would run to the waters edge and then back to the high tide mark.  With the beachcomber passed, the willets would again strike that classic rest pose only to be disturbed by another beachcomber.

     This image was taken as the birds were being disturbed by another passersby.  The lead bird, always alert, is seen ready to act and guide the others from possible danger.  The impending action and sharpness of the lead bird gives this image its focal point; but it is the various stages of awakening and sharpness among the background birds that gives the image its interest and impact.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,000 second @ f 9,  tripod mounted lens low to ground

Pic of the Day

   Willet – Captiva Island, Florida:  January 2^nd was another beautiful day in Southern Florida, but the birds in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge were few and far between.  After a drive through the refuge we headed to Tween-waters, the slough that separates Sanibel Island from Captiva.  The beach on the Captiva side of the slough always has some kind of shorebirds to photograph, and this day there were terns, turnstones, sanderlings and willets. 

This Willet was one of more than a dozen in a small flock that raced up and down the beach as tourist walked along the shore line.  I took the photo as the bird paused for a moment between its movement up and down the beach.   My low level Frisbee mounted camera worked great and so did the angle of view.  The Frisbee allow me to keep the camera about 7 inches off the ground, and gives me the ability to slide the camera forward or backward across the ground as I crawl forward and backward.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200, 1/1000 sec. @ f9