Reacquainted with the sunrise

I’ve written many times on this blog about my love of experiencing the first light of the day. While the brilliant colors of sunset are just as visually pleasing, the sunrise provides a much stronger fuel for my soul. With the less than ideal amount of sleep I get during the semester, coupled with the lengthening days of spring feeding into summer, it had been a long time since I felt the warm glow of the first rays touch my face. Even though Plum Island is over an hour away and we were near the earliest mornings of the year due to the solstice, the gravitational pull of the chance to photograph tiny piping plover chicks in warm morning light was strong enough to get me out for the sunrise twice last month and again earlier this week. There’s magic at the leading edge of the day, and it feels great to be reacquainted again!

Spoonbill reflection, Bunche Beach Preserve

The smooth surface of the shallow tidal pools at Bunche Beach Preserve made for some nice reflections all morning. It was surprising to experience how quickly the flooding tide rose across the flat expanses of exposed mudflats. I initially placed myself a few yards from the edge of this pond, but after about 15 minutes of photographing this juvenile roseate spoonbill, the water had reached my location. Thankfully, the bird soon opted to fly off to a different pool, making it a much easier choice to stand up before being completely soaked through.

View more photographs of this juvenile spoonbill and other wading birds.

Little blue heron in an infinite sea, Bunche Beach Preserve

On this morning last March, I had enjoyed photographing wading birds in the warm sunrise light further up the beach at Bunche Beach Preserve. As I was walking back to the car, some high-level clouds moved in and provided wonderful diffuse light for this lone little blue heron as it hunted in a shallow tidal pool. Combining that with a low-angle approach, and this small tidal pool appeared to extend all the way to the horizon.

View more photographs of herons and egrets

Piping plover parents, Sandy Point State Reservation

I must say, after watching the job these piping plover parents have on a few separate mornings last month, I’m glad it’s not my responsibility to keep track of the chicks! These tender moments of warming them together in a single group seemed to be short-lived, as a few minutes later all four chicks will inevitably be running in four separate directions around the beach. It’s amazing to me that the adults are able to keep track of them all!

View more photographs of piping plovers, as well as other plover species.

Close encounters of the adorable kind, Sandy Point State Reservation

One of the most fun things about photographing these piping plover chicks as they explored the beach outside of their roped-off protected area at Sandy Point State Reservation is how curious they were. On many occasions, as I was quietly lying in the sand nearby, the chicks would come well within my minimum focusing distance of 8 feet. No complaints here though – it was a great chance to pull my eye away from the viewfinder and enjoy a close encounter of the adorable kind.

View more plover photography.