Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Got Him! A plover catches a worm at Pillar Point Harbor

A five-frame series of this black-bellied plover pulling a segmented worm from the exposed sand of Pillar Point Harbor on Half Moon Bay. I've watched black-bellied plovers pull many of these worms from the sand, but this is the first time my photographs left me reasonably (although not fully) satisfied. The birds will stalk around looking for a tip of the worm in the sand, then freeze, stare at it for a moment or two, and then strike.

Early plover catches the worm - Pat Ulrich Wildlife Photography

As it starts to pull the worm from the ground, I often marvel at how long these critters are, and how many there must be just underfoot.

Plover pulling up a worm - Pat Ulrich Wildlife Photography

Most of the time the worm seems to pop out of the hole by the time the plover is back to full-height, but this particular meal was longer than expected.

Got him!

The plover pulled, and pulled, and seemed to be preparing for the worm to come popping out of the sand. It's eye was half closed, and I can't help but wonder if it expected the worm to come flying at it like a rubber-band that snaps under tension.

Worm pulled taut by plover - Pat Ulrich Wildlife Photography

For the last frame the plover pulled even further out of my plane of focus, but yet the worm still hung onto its burrow. Moments later the plover took its prize, and it was fun to watch it attempt to eat it like a long string of spaghetti.

Long stretched worm - Pat Ulrich Wildlife Photography

View more images of these charismatic shorebirds in my Plovers Gallery.

Submitted to World Bird Wednesday -- Follow the link to see this week's posts!

28 comments:

  1. That was great. It tells the story so well. I have never seen anything like this before.

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  2. Awesome! Glad I'm not the worm...

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  3. He'd better watch out -- that worm might turn the tables on him!

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  4. To see the segments in the stretched out worm is amazing! Photography can take us where we can not go. It's like being six inches away! How can it get better than that Pat?

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  5. Great sequence Pat!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  6. Bravo Pat! Beautiful images. I watch robin's do this all the time but here is something special about a shorebird ripping a polycete from the sand.

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  7. FABulous feeding time series. Well done Pat.

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  8. I'm speechless, WOW! Exquisite captures Pat! The annelid worm never had a chance with this beautiful shorebird.

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  9. Really wonderful photos! And the bird is very beautiful to!...I think I never seen such a stretchy worm...:)

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  10. Amazing Capture and what great timing

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  11. Amazing series of photos showing the lovely little Plover getting his dinner!

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  12. This has got to be the best series Ive ever seen. Fantastic bird behaviour captured brilliantly.

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  13. He was determined to get that worm! Great captures!

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  14. Great series of photos. My books say the Grey Plover is also called the Black-bellied Plover - so we do see that one down here in Australia - but not in such beautiful breeding colors as that!

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  15. OK Pat..... Can I be critical? you set the crossbar too bloody high..... you keep jumping over it and raising it again... lol

    Seriously stunning images mate, image 3 really shows the strain on the plovers fave as he pulls the last few inches of worm... awesome

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  16. Wonderful series, I am glad it got the worm. Great photos of the Plover!

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  17. Hi - great set opf pictures - I often get to watch Pied Oyster Catchers pull worms from the beach. I've only ever got pictrues of it once - and they were nowhere as good as these!

    Splendid shots. Stewart M - Australia

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  18. Oh my gosh....that is pretty darn cool. I've never seen anything like that! Hehehe...loved it! :-)

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  19. Are you sure that is a worm? It looks like a piece of licorce to me. Great pictures.

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  20. That is an amazing series...HOW Long is that worm!!!

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  21. Fantastic series of the Black-bellied Plover Pat! Truly amazing. You must have been on your belly to get those shots!

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