A dunlin preens its feathers while bathed in the golden light of sunset on Plymouth Beach
On this early May trip to Plymouth Beach, I spent most of the late afternoon walking up and down the beach looking for cooperative shorebirds. They seemed to be opposed to staying in even smallish flocks for any substantial amount of time that day, and instead were feeding individually across the extensive exposed sediments. It was hard to find a place to set up to let the birds approach me, since predicting the path of an individual shorebird is nearly impossible. As the sun started getting low to the horizon, I thought I might have to head home without much on my memory cards. But then, a large flock of dunlin landed nearby -- and instead of feeding, they were preening and resting on a raised bar of sand. This bird stood alone on the edge of the flock as it preened its feathers before tucking in its bill for a nap.
View more photographs of dunlin.
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