A few weeks ago, in early-November, I served as a guide at the Rio Grande Birding Festival in Harlingen, Texas for the sixth time in seven years, the 2020 installment cancelled because of the pandemic. I'm responsible for leading morning field trips on each of the five festival days, but I have the afternoons to explore the vendor fair, go birding with other guides, or sneak off for photography. I had some great luck with the camera on South Padre Island, and I'll use this post to share those results with you.
Let's start with this Greater Yellowlegs. I regularly see these birds around the Bay Area and beyond, but they're always too far away or in situations/settings which won't yield pretty pictures. I haven't had a decent opportunity at this bird since I moved out of Massachusetts at the end of 2013, so I was hella stoked when this cooperative individual strode through my viewfinder while I was belly-crawling on tidal flats. #crushed!
Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/6400 at f/5.6, ISO 800
1/6400 at f/5.6, ISO 800
Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800
I've done better with Ruddy Turnstones and Dunlin over the years, but I'm happy to add these two frames to my collection. I particularly like the curious head tilt in the first and the exaggerated bokeh (blur) in the second.
As much as I love shooting shorebirds, this White Ibis stole the show because I'd never had a decent photographic crack at the species. This example favored water that was 6 to 8 inches deep, so I had to be very careful to keep my lens dry as I crawled/floated/maneuvered into shooting position between the bird and the setting sun. The ruffled feathers in the first shot result from breeze blowing across the bird's left side. I don't know the identity of the prey in the second shot, but it was thrashing around like a worm or small eel.
White Ibis - Eudocimus albus
And lastly, we have this Piping Plover. I don't waste time taking pictures which include man-made stuff -- feeders, metal perches, roads, etc -- because it's lazy photography, but I make exceptions for banded birds because 1) reporting the band to this website helps researchers and 2) it's fun to learn the bird's story. The leg tag might be difficult to read in this wide composition (chosen for dramatic/creative effect), but it's sufficient to identify the bird as 48F. The banding folks sent me a certificate of appreciation for my submission, and I've added it to my running collection as displayed on my photo website. Hopefully, I'll find and photograph more banded birds in the future!
Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/3200 at f/5.6, ISO 640
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/3200 at f/5.6, ISO 640
Dunlin - Calidris alpina
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800
As much as I love shooting shorebirds, this White Ibis stole the show because I'd never had a decent photographic crack at the species. This example favored water that was 6 to 8 inches deep, so I had to be very careful to keep my lens dry as I crawled/floated/maneuvered into shooting position between the bird and the setting sun. The ruffled feathers in the first shot result from breeze blowing across the bird's left side. I don't know the identity of the prey in the second shot, but it was thrashing around like a worm or small eel.
White Ibis - Eudocimus albus
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/7.1, ISO 640
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/7.1, ISO 640
White Ibis - Eudocimus albus
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800
And lastly, we have this Piping Plover. I don't waste time taking pictures which include man-made stuff -- feeders, metal perches, roads, etc -- because it's lazy photography, but I make exceptions for banded birds because 1) reporting the band to this website helps researchers and 2) it's fun to learn the bird's story. The leg tag might be difficult to read in this wide composition (chosen for dramatic/creative effect), but it's sufficient to identify the bird as 48F. The banding folks sent me a certificate of appreciation for my submission, and I've added it to my running collection as displayed on my photo website. Hopefully, I'll find and photograph more banded birds in the future!
Piping Plover - Charadrius melodus
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 1000
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 1000
It took several hours on my belly to capture all these frames, but the water was so warm that a pair of ratty old short was all the clothing I needed. I did catch a few birders watching me through their binoculars and scopes while I was crawling around, so I hope like hell that they've erased the image of my pasty white body from their memories!
Cheers for now!
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