Flock of dunlin in flight, Plymouth Beach

The coordinated flight of shorebirds is always fascinating to watch, often seeming as if they have the movements of single organism. Here, this small flock of dunlin were descending together toward the beach, all turned in the same direction.

Dunlin at rest, Plymouth Beach

I typically go to the North Shore of Massachusetts for my local shorebird photography, but heading south of Boston down to Plymouth can be very rewarding too. A few years ago I was fortunate to encounter a large flock of dunlin that were transitioning to their breeding plumage. We generally get to see them in their basic colors, so it was a treat to see the black belly-patch coming through.

Sanderling feeding in front of the flock, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

As I waited for the flock to approach where I was waiting in the sand, this is one of the first sanderlings to come close. A few minutes later the flock would come zooming by on all sides.

Sanderling at dusk, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

A few years ago I had a wonderful evening spent with a large flock of sanderlings as they settled in to roost along the beach at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. After the sun dropped below the dunes behind me, beautiful pastel colors were reflected in a pool of shallow water at the edge of the beach. A lot of the birds were preening or tucking their bills in to rest, but this one slowly walked through the water, providing some lovely reflections without making many waves in the still water.

Sanderlings feeding, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

I generally find it hard to work with my camera in a vertical orientation while laying prone in the sand for my low-angle shorebird photography. It leaves my arms and trigger finger in an awkward position against the ground, while also limiting my field of vision to track the rapid motions of the birds. This means that most of my shorebird compositions are horizontal, and this generally matches the fast-paced motion of a sandpiper on the beach. While processing my images, I like to look for at least a few compositions that work in vertical to keep things interesting. The orientation of these two birds, with the first turned toward the camera, caught my attention for a tight crop from the original horizontal perspective.