Eastern Willet in flight – Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 330mm, natural light
There are two subspecies of Willets which Western and Eastern. Here in Utah I only see the Western subspecies but in Florida I could see both during the course of a year. This Willet is the Eastern subspecies that I photographed at Fort De Soto’s north beach in 2009.
The Willet flew in so close to me that I had to back up my zoom so I wouldn’t clip any of the bird. I had been photographing a static shorebird when I noticed the Willet flying in and I didn’t have time to change my settings. I would have increased my ISO some and changed my aperture to f6.3 to get a faster shutter speed if there had been time but since the Willet was gliding in I had just enough shutter speed to freeze the action. The reflection from the white sand below the bird helped to light up the underside of the shorebird’s wings.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Willet photos plus facts and information about this species.
I like the flight position of the bird. It is very difficult to switch from shooting static subjects to flying subjects, as you well know!
Julie, it can be very challenging to switch from static subjects to flying ones. Thanks for commenting.
Love your photos!
Thanks Jerry!
I think the flight action is very well frozen as it is; and the natural light is very nice, too.
Thanks Maria.
not so easy to get it so close in fligth, a real good performance mia, bravo, it s a great shot =)))
have a nice day ☼
Thank you Eric, I hope you have a great night.
Beautiful Willet in flight, great photography.
Thank you Bob, this was a fun bird to photograph.
You captured the details so perfectly. 😀
Thanks Taylor and thank you for visiting my blog.
in the right place at the right time.great shot.
Thank you Jane!
Mia, I really like the “ghosting” look of the bird’s wing feathers. Not sure if it’s due to the shutter speed or the lighting, or both, but it’s a really neat shot.
Thank you Tami!
Wonderful in-flight shot! I can’t believe these birds won’t wait while you make a few camera adjustments! 🙂
Wally, Willets just don’t train well 😉
Thanks for your comment.
Such pretty patterns under those wings. Just don’t see photos of them in flight often enough. Lovely.
Thanks Sherry, I love the wing patterns on Willets.
Excellent shot, Mia!
Thank you Beverly!