Black-bellied Plovers are the largest plover in North America. The have long legs, short necks and bills and large round heads.
This morning I opted to go back in time to a "normal" Mother's Day by pulling a Black-bellied Plover photo from my archives that was taken on Mother's Day in 2009.
Taking photographs of shorebirds at eye level was very fulfilling for me and the images that resulted from my down & dirty technique have always made me feel an intimate connection to the birds.
After taking the quick bath in the tidal lagoon the Black-bellied Plover flew off towards the shoreline of the lagoon to shake and fluff its feathers until they were dry.
One a fall day at Fort De Soto I was able to photograph this Black-bellied Plover on a foggy morning up close on the beach.
Shorebirds. They were what sparked my passion for bird photography. They were what drew me back to the Gulf Coast of Florida as much as I could be there.
Today I am focusing on older posts that have shorebirds in them starting with Black-bellied Plovers.
I love the light and the mudflat setting I photographed this Black-bellied Plover in on a warm April morning in Florida several years ago.
This Black-bellied Plover was standing on a dunelet that wasn't much higher than the sand around it that had sparse short grasses which I found appealing.
There are a few similar species that occur in Utah and surrounding states that could be confused with Mountain Plovers.
Black-bellied Plovers in breeding and nonbreeding plumage can look like two different plover species but they aren't.
One of the shorebird species I am able to see in Utah during migration that I photographed often while I lived in Florida are the lovely Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola).
As much as I like to compose images that are full frame I find that I often allow myself a touch of extra space around my subject so I can recompose in post processing by making different crops.
I love watching Black-bellied Plovers hunting. They take a few steps, stop, look and listen, then do it all over again.
Throughout the year you can see and photograph many different species of Plovers on Fort De Soto’s beaches, tidal lagoons and spartina marshes.
Who doesn't need a bit of humor once in awhile?