She Almost Ran Over This Baby Bird
Last weekend I had a phenomenal weekend of bird photography in St. Augustine. Saturday morning I went to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and was surprised by how light the crowd was. At 8am there were about 10 photographers at the red door. Most left by 9am. I stayed until about 10am when the sunlight was getting too harsh. Of note, Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, and Tricolored Heron chicks were everywhere. If you like to photograph baby birds, NOW is the time! I’ll be posting pics from the Farm in a separate post soon.
Following my visit to the Farm, I went a few miles down the road to Anastasia State Park. A small colony of about 50 Least Terns were flying over the dunes and setting up nests in the roped off area. Although the sun was high in the sky, I spent about half an hour working on BIF photos. Then I noticed what first looked like a Killdeer hanging out in the washed up sargassum high above the tide line. I thought that was odd, then upon closer inspection, realized it wasn’t a Killdeer at all but a Wilson’s Plover! I watched this plover for a few minutes, then moved down the beach to see what else I could find. That’s when I spotted them. Two teeny weeny little Wilson Plover chicks scurrying about the beach. All of the plovers were hanging in and around the washed up sargassum where they easily blended in for protection. In fact, I only spotted the third chick after I had been photographing the others for about 20 minutes.
Wilson’s Plover chick. Photographed with the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR lens on a gimbal head mounted to a Skimmer Ground Pod. ISO 250, f/6.3, 1/1250 sec.
Wilson’s Plover chick. Photographed with the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR lens on a gimbal head mounted to a Skimmer Ground Pod. ISO 250, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
Wilson’s Plover chick. Check out those legs. Although only 2 or 3 days old, these little guys were pretty nimble on their feet as they explored the beach. Photographed with the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR lens on a gimbal head mounted to a Skimmer Ground Pod. ISO 250, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
These Wilson Plovers were well outside of the roped off area because it seemed they preferred staying in or near the washed up material. I maintained a respectful distance from the birds so as to not disturb them, even using an 800mm telephoto lens, but every once in a while one of the chicks would get curious and actually run towards me. When that would happen I would remain completely still until the bird eventually wandered off.
Wilson’s Plover chick. Occasionally the curious check would run towards the camera, stare at it for a few moments, then return to exploring the beach. Photographed with the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR lens on a gimbal head mounted to a Skimmer Ground Pod. ISO 250, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
One of the parents was banded with four different bands. I reported this information to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory. If I hear back from them I will update this post.
Banded adult Wilson’s Plover. Photographed with the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR lens on a gimbal head mounted to a Skimmer Ground Pod. ISO 250, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
When I first walked out on the beach one of the things I noticed was tread marks from an ATV being driven by volunteers and employees of the State Park. These tread marks were all over the beach - near the water, near the dunes, all throughout the sargassum. Although I saw no dead birds from being run over by the ATV, I have no doubt they are getting run over. In fact, the birds in these photographs very nearly got run over while I was there photographing them!
I was laying on the beach taking pictures of the birds when the ATV started heading my way. The ATV was staying high on the beach, very close to the rope line and was making a bee line straight towards these plovers. When it was about 20 feet away I realized the lady driving this vehicle was going to run over the birds. I jumped up, started waving my arms, and yelled STOP! She did stop, but only about 5 feet from the birds. Of course they all scattered the moment I jumped up. I was pretty hot so I yelled at the lady and told her that she almost run over the birds and had no business operating an ATV so close to a nesting zone. I showed her where to drive, and she went on her way seemingly without a care about what she had almost done. I shudder to think how many times this has happened when I wasn’t there.
Wilson’s Plovers nest in scrapes in sand and use vegetation like the washed up sargassum for cover. In fact, the little chick would occasionally break from exploring the beach and take a rest in the sargassum. It is our responsibility to look out for and protect these birds. So many people in this world care absolutely nothing about wildlife and could care less if their actions result in their harm. We bird photographers, birders, and conservationists need to speak up for birds and watch out for them as much as possible because if we don’t - who will?
Wilson’s Plover chick resting in the sargassum. Watch where you step, ride your bike, and drive on the beach! Photographed with the Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR lens on a gimbal head mounted to a Skimmer Ground Pod. ISO 320, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
