Adult Western Willet Close Up

Western Willet close up – Nikon D810, f14, 1/400, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm with 1.4x TC, natural light

Dreary weather and our earthquake here in the Salt Lake City area have been keeping me out of the field and away from the birds I long to see and photograph. Those two things have given me time to think about the birds I should be soon seeing during spring migration and among those birds are Western Willets. Long-billed Curlews usually arrive first on Antelope Island and then I know that the Willets will arrive soon afterwards.

When the Willets first arrive I often hear them before I see them, they can be quite the chatterboxes early in the spring. Later in the season they aren’t quite as vocal.

This extremely cooperative Western Willet was photographed in June of 2015 on Antelope Island where it was perched on top of a Greasewood very close to a road. Since the shorebird was close, obliging and I had good light I decided to take a long series of close ups of the bird.

When I posted photos of this Western Willet on my blog the day after photographing it I wrote “Whenever I get the chance to take portraits of a wild bird I am delighted and who knows, it might be another 5 years before it happens again.”

It has now been almost six years since I have been close enough to a Willet to be able to take portraits of this species so yes, I am glad I took as many photos of this bird as I did.

One of the reasons I probably haven’t been this close to a Willet is because they arrive about the time the no-see-ums on Antelope Island start to show up and bite me and every other visitor on the island. My reaction to the bites of those nasty bugs has gotten more severe over time and I have been avoiding going to the island when the no-see-ums are at their worst.

I do see our Western Willets in other locations here in northern Utah but so far I haven’t had an opportunity to be as close as I was to them as I was this bird on 2015. I’m keeping my fingers crossed though.

Life is good.

Mia

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

Note:

Our Western Willets will be arriving soon but with the Covid-19 pandemic occurring I can’t be certain I will be able to get out into the field to photograph them. Our governor may order a state-wide lock down like the governor of California did yesterday. I am practicing social distancing.

One of the fortunate things about being a bird photographer here in northern Utah during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis is that I am almost always photographing from a vehicle that I use as a mobile blind because the birds here can be so skittish in the wild areas that I photograph in. So I can get out to photograph birds while avoiding contact with other people. As long as we don’t go into lock down and the weather cooperates I will be out in the field with the birds.