Wednesday 21 September 2011

Semipalmated Sandpiper, Drift Reservoir

What a super little bird this was, my 378th UK tick. It kept company with a Dunlin throughout, and was extremely tame. The tactic here was to lie on the beach ahead of it, and wait for it to come to you, leaving enough room for the bird to feel comfortable passing you along the water's edge. The light was extremely difficult, with the sun almost directly behind the bird in many instances. In order to retain at least some colour in the plumage I have had to add over two stops of light in some of the photos, and lift them more in post-processing. There is no subsitute for being close to a bird - it doesn't matter what camera and lens you have, you'll take decent photos. In the final two photos you can just about see the partly webbed feet - the semipalmations from which this bird takes its name.











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