Saturday, December 18, 2010

Preening Dunlin

I always enjoy photographing preening shorebirds. One reason is that its a good sign that the birds are comfortable with my presence, since they wouldn't risk taking their eyes off me if they weren't. I never want to add extra stress to the birds that I'm watching, which means approaching really slowly while crawling in the sand, as well as leaving in exactly the same way when I'm done. And since the birds are ok with me being around them, I can get images of their normal behavior. Its wonderful to have a window into their lives.
Preening Dunlin

I also like preening shots since you can get more definition in each individual feather when they have them fluffed out a bit. Its easy to see a bird's plumage as the overall pattern. But when they are cleaning the feathers, you can see the shape and detail in each one, and how they all fit together.
Preening Dunlin 3

Here's a third frame that's pretty similar to the first, but there's a little better light on this angle of its face, and the little western sandpiper has an eye on the scene.
Preening Dunlin 2

8 comments:

  1. Exquisite images! The feather details are fantastic!

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  2. Great photos and I think he is watching you.Boom & Gary of The Vermilon River.

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  3. Pat, I'm impressed by how close you get to shorebirds.

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  4. Wow..what a nice serie! First one is perfect!

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  5. wonderful photo - I also like the crowd in the back...

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  6. Thanks for your kind words, Julie, Gary, Jim, Dominic and dreamfalcon!

    @Jim: Shorebirds are my favorite subject by far, and I love the opportunity to get close to them when I can. I find that if I approach slowly from a prone position in the sand, they are really quite trusting. I think that their main predators come from the air, so keeping a low profile makes you non-threatening. It can be hard work to belly-crawl over long distances just to get close (my muscles were sore for a week after the day I took this series of images), but its so worth it when you can build their trust enough to allow you to be in the flock with them.

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  7. Bravo Pat on another exquisite capture. You certainly paid the price required to attempt such a photo. It is inspirational to read a snippet about what it took to achieve this great image!

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  8. Thanks, Springman -- I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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