Spring Long-billed Curlew Photos
Yesterday I spotted this Long-billed Curlew foraging and calling in the grasses of the north end of Antelope Island State Park.
Yesterday I spotted this Long-billed Curlew foraging and calling in the grasses of the north end of Antelope Island State Park.
Spring birds I look forward to seeing and hearing include Long-billed Curlews which should be arriving in northern Utah any day now.
I will say that my favorite and most memorable times photographing Long-billed Curlews happened while I was still living in Florida well away from their breeding grounds.
Two days ago I heard and saw my first of the season Long-billed Curlews while looking for birds to photograph in northern Utah and I could barely contain my excitement.
The road is nothing more than a sandy track that runs through a grassland area where in past years I have seen Long-billed Curlews displaying, fighting, courting and mating and I hoped to see that yesterday.
Yesterday when I saw, heard and photographed these Long-billed Curlews while on Antelope Island I was reminded of all the times I have taken photos of these large shorebirds here in Utah, Montana and in Florida and how I have enjoyed having an intimate view of their lives both through my lens and with my eyes.
Four days ago I was able to take my first photographs of Long-billed Curlews this year on Antelope Island State Park and although I was disappointed in the quality of most of the images I took I enjoyed seeing these large sandpipers again.
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.
It was one year ago today that I saw and heard my first Long-billed Curlews of the year and this morning as I sit here knowing there are cloudy skies outside I am wondering if the curlews have returned to northern Utah today as well.
I saw quite a few Long-billed Curlews yesterday wandering in the spring grasses and this time I was able to get nice images of them. Nicknames for Long-billed Curlews include "sicklebird" and "candlestick bird."
The first of March always makes me think of and listen for Long-billed Curlews, our largest shorebird of North America.
I kept this photo of the Reddish Egret with the surprise curlew in the background not because it is a great image but to remind myself to look beyond the subject in front of me.
The Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island are fascinating subjects to photograph and observe or anywhere for that matter.
This pose made me think "The Long-billed Curlew Scores" but he was really just exhibiting a territorial response to another curlew that was nearby
I thought a post on the growth of bills in Long-billed Curlews might interest some of my readers.
I had some fun with this Long-billed Curlew yesterday after the clouds thinned and the sunshine fell consistently on Antelope Island State Park.
Yesterday this Long-billed Curlew preened, fluffed, shook and called on a pile of pooh.
Long-billed Curlews will nest on the island in the grasses soon but before then I look forward to watching their courtship displays both on the ground and in the air.
When I lived in Florida I was able to see and photograph two of our largest North American shorebirds during winter which are Whimbrels and Long-billed Curlews.
Yesterday morning I had Western Kingbirds and Long-billed Curlews in my viewfinder on Antelope Island State Park.
I saw my first of the year Long-billed Curlews two days ago on Antelope Island State Park flying overhead. They weren't close enough to photograph but I know that soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.
Preening in birds is essential for keeping their feathers clean, arranged correctly and for some birds it is a way to distribute oils from the uropygial gland which helps to keep the feathers clean and healthy.
It has been another very long week so I thought I'd post a female Long-billed Curlew because of her very long bill but unlike the way my week went this curlew is graceful, elegant and serene.
I've been enjoying seeing Long-billed Curlews for several weeks now in northern Utah. These large shorebirds birds are also called "Candlestick birds" and "Sickle Birds" because of their long bills.
This is just a simple Long-billed Curlew post with images I took not long before I discovered the Mountain Plovers on April 10th on Antelope Island State Park.
Even though I only got out to photograph birds three times this week each of the days I did get out were very memorable!
When we stopped at one of the parking lots that overlooked Bridger Bay I heard a call that made me jump in my seat and before I could say "Long-billed Curlew!!" I could see the bird flying towards the grasses.
This was a life bird for my mother and I am glad she was able to see it strolling among the rocks on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake while I photographed the curlew last week.
I haven't heard a Long-billed Curlew calling for several weeks here in northern Utah and I already miss hearing their calls.
I bet you are wondering what I mean by "Poopy perches", I know I would be if I saw that title. Am I talking about perches that are man-made and ugly? Or perches that are just not all that appealing visually?