Plover parent sheltering its chick, Sandy Point State Reservation

This attentive piping plover parent was keeping close watch over its lone chick. It's wonderful to see these birds caring for their young, but a little sad to know that most broods start out with four hatchlings.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a happy new year and all the best for 2020!

Piping plover mother brooding her chicks, Sandy Point State Reservation

The photo above is another one that made my list of 2019 favorites. I love the color tones provided by the warm sunrise light under a high overcast sky, and I'm drawn to the sense of interaction as the piping plover chick approached its mother to brood. A few other chicks were already tucked underneath their mother, so this chick was searching for the right spot to sneak in.



In the frame below, I love the look shared between this young chick and its mother -- these are the moments of connection we strive to capture as wildlife photographers. As an individual photograph though, I feel like it fell a little short of having enough connection with the viewer. The mother turned her head back far enough to look at the chick that it leaves me feeling disconnected from her in the photograph. The emotion of the young chick's expression still warms my heart though.



After a little bit of trying to find an opening between its siblings, this chick found a spot under her wing and tucked itself out of sight.

Brooding piping plover, Sandy Point State Reservation

At the end of the year it's always fun to look back through the photographs I've made over the last 12 months. In 2019, the bulk of my work came during the summer, and especially during the time when tiny piping plover chicks were scurrying across the beaches at Sandy Point State Reservation. I had been saving a few of the photos I knew would be on my list of 2019 favorites to post throughout the fall, and while I didn't get to it then, I'll share them now.

I love to photograph parent plovers caring for their chicks, and especially when the young ones are tucked underneath to brood. I have many different compositions of similar images from the summer, but I've been really drawn to the combination of lighting and color from the dunes in the background in these. When viewed together, I think this series shows how important the tiny changes in head position can be for changing the feeling of an image. Overall, the top photo is my favorite, with a clean profile view. But I also like the one just above, which adds a touch of connection between the plover and the camera. And then there's the image below, which loses the connection to the viewer and adds the focus of the parent on its chicks.

Thanks for viewing and Happy Holidays to you and yours!!

Seeking shelter on the tidal flats, Piping plovers at Sandy Point

I had a lot of fun watching this family of piping plovers on my first trip to Sandy Point State Reservation for the summer breeding season. I initially encountered them along the dunes, but eventually some of the chicks decided to explore the expansive tidal flats of a very low tide. The patterns in the sand left behind by the receding water made for a unique setting to photograph them as they sought refuge under their father's wing.

Least tern chick receives a fish, Sandy Point State Reservation

On my mid-summer trips to see the breeding birds at Sandy Point State Reservation, I was almost always focused on the piping plovers running around the beach. There is a colony of least terns there as well, and when a family chose to stay near the ropes, a large crowd of photographers tended to form near them each time I visited. I spent the first light of one trip focused on terns, and it was easy to see why there is a such a draw to them. Unlike the piping plovers, which are in constant motion and responsible for feeding themselves, the terns are much more stationary and you have a chance to witness the tender moments of a parent bringing prey back to the little ones.

For a while, the chick was snuggled with its other parent on the sand. At some point it must have heard the call of this parent returning, because it leapt to its feet and started running around excitedly. Then its parent flew into the frame and handed off a rather large fish. Unfortunately, I was zoomed in a bit too tight and clipped the tips of the wings, but it was a great moment to witness!

Shared with this week's Wild Bird Wednesday

Piping plover chick in the spotlight, Sandy Point State Reservation

Warm sunrise light with just enough high clouds in the sky came together to illuminate this young piping plover chick while it was exploring the beach at Sandy Point State Reservation.

Piping plover family in the rain, Sandy Point State Reservation

The dreary last few days in the Boston area reminds me of my first trip this summer to see the piping plover chicks at Sandy Point State Reservation. There were dull-gray skies with off and on drizzle, but it was great to spend some time watching this piping plover family. In this frame, two chicks are already under their parent, and it's pretty clear the third wants to get out of the rain as well.

Preening sandpipers, Sandy Point State Reservation

One of the pleasures of watching wildlife is when they are totally indifferent to your presence. After slowly approaching a large flock of sandpipers resting on the beach, the shorebirds simply went about their morning business. This pair of semipalmated sandpipers was near the front of the group, with one napping while the other preened its feathers.

Roosting semipalmated sandpiper, Sandy Point State Reservation

High tide was right around sunrise on this September morning, and after following a small flock of sanderlings feeding along the beach at first light, I decided to walk to the tip of Sandy Point State Reservation. With so much of the tidal flats submerged below the tide, I figured there was a reasonable chance the shorebirds would be roosting somewhere on the beach. Sure enough, I didn't get too far down the beach before spotting the first group of semipalmated plovers at the edge of a larger flock of mixed shorebirds. I slowly belly-crawled my way into their presence and enjoyed watching the flock rest and preen, including this semipalmated sandpiper.

Two extra legs and a long shadow, Sandy Point State Reservation

It was nice to watch this parent piping plover watch over its young chick on the beach at Sandy Point State Reservation, though it was also a little bittersweet. Piping plovers generally hatch four chicks with each brood, and this pair of parents had only this one left. I can only imagine how tough it must be to keep such a tiny family of chicks safe in that environment. But it was inspiring to see a bunch of piping plover fledglings roaming the beach when I returned in early August.

Piping plover chick in morning light, Sandy Point State Reservation

This curious piping plover chick quickly came close to check me out when I arrived on the beach on this July morning. The sun had just risen above the Atlantic, but we were still in the shadow of the small hill at Sandy Point State Reservation, lending both a warmth and coolness to the morning light. After giving me a once over from its tall pose, the chick quickly returned to its business of scouring the beach for tiny prey.

Piping plover chick, Sandy Point State Reservation

A young piping plover chick pauses for a moment and gives me a nice profile view while exploring the beach at Sandy Point State Reservation.

Piping plover finished brooding, Sandy Point State Reservation

This piping plover chick was all warmed up and ready to slip out from under its parent's feathers. After watching these adorable little chicks earlier in the summer, it was great to see so many fledged piping plovers on the beach this past weekend. Hopefully it was a good year for their breeding numbers on Plum Island.

Semipalmated sandpiper in evening light, Sandy Point State Reservation

Digging deep into the archives for this one. It was taken on a terrific fall evening in 2012 that I spent with a flock of mixed shorebirds resting and preening on the beach. It was heavy overcast for most of my time there, but as the sun got closer to the horizon, it slipped below the cloud layer and cast beautiful warm light over everything -- including this semipalmated sandpiper resting near an old log on the beach.

Constant motion, Piping plover chick on Plum Island

When they're not brooding under a parent, tiny piping plover chicks seem to be in constant motion. Just like the adults, they have a sprint and stop motion as they cross the sand and watch for potential prey. I have found it hard for my lens to keep the face of the bird in focus when they move suddenly, but the bright light of the late morning sun helped the autofocus track this little one as it sprinted across the sand in front of me, momentarily paused to check something out, then shot off again.

Shared with Wild Bird Wednesday -- follow the link for this week's posts.

Least tern courtship, Sandy Point State Reservation

Here's a series of images from a foggy morning photographing the courtship rituals of least terns on the beach at Sandy Point State Reservation.

He arrived ready to woo her with his fish, but their mating attempt appeared to be unsuccessful this time. They fought a little bit over the fish, but the female came away with it in the end.

Brooding piping plover chicks, Sandy Point State Reservation

While it’s fun to capture portraits or action shots of piping plover chicks running about on their own, I’m partial to photographs of the interactions with their parents. It was four years ago that I had my first opportunities to photograph these special moments on Plum Island. On only my second trip to see the chicks, I had the encounter that I only dreamed would actually come together – a clean shot in sunrise light with all four chicks crammed under a parent and a mess of 10 legs sticking out the bottom. It’s a simultaneously comical and incredible sight. I’m always hopeful I’ll have a similar encounter again, but it hasn’t yet materialized in the same way. I love any type of brooding shot where you can see the young ones tucked underneath, and in these, three little fluff balls are trying to squeeze in together.

Small piping plover chick on a big beach, Plum Island

There were multiple broods of piping plover chicks exploring the beach at Sandy Point State Reservation on this June morning. By the time I made it around the main beach and over toward in the inlet, the sun was already getting pretty high in the sky. For most other subjects, it would easily have been time to pack up the gear and head home. But when you're photographing something that's just an inch or two above the ground, the light sand almost works like a giant reflector -- helping to reduce the contrasting shadows from underneath and extending the time for photography.

Sense of scale, Piping plover at Sandy Point State Reservation

Sometimes, while watching these birds on the beach through a large telephoto lens, you forget the sense of scale. Especially when their curiosity brings them close and they fill your viewfinder. But then one passes by a tiny plant in the sand, just three leaves on a side, and you remember how small these chicks are -- and how amazing it is that they're responsible for feeding themselves!