I wanted to post a shorebird today that I haven’t posted in a while so I picked this image where the late afternoon Dunlin got the worm.

Dunlin gets the wormDunlin gets the worm – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited

That afternoon I was out photographing at Fort De Soto’s north beach when this Dunlin came into the lagoon and foraged in front of me as I laid at the edge of the water. It wasn’t long before the dunlin caught the small tubeworm and I happened to snap the shutter as tiny droplets of water flew into the air after the dunlin pulled the worm from its underwater hole. Some folks think that Dunlins are rather plain in their nonbreeding plumage (and they are compared to their breeding plumage) but I find this phase of plumage to be subtly beautiful.

It wasn’t uncommon for me to see and photograph Dunlins in Florida for most of the year except for a few months during their breeding season. I see Dunlins occasionally here in Utah when they stop over on migration but they are usually too far away to capture decent images of them.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Dunlin photos plus facts and information about this species.

Image taken in December of 2008