Yellowlegs and BIF at Fort DeSoto Park
This past Sunday morning I revisited Fort DeSoto Park with the hope that there would be more birds. The weather was not in my favor though. Skies were cloudy, wind was coming out of the west and blowing east (exactly the opposite of what you want at sunrise), and the tide was low. Still, I was hopeful.
At the tidal lagoon there was a Greater Yellowlegs and a Willet, but nothing more. There was a flock of birds about 2 miles away, but I was in no mood to hike down the beach that far. So I settled in at the tidal lagoon, which was fine because the Yellowlegs can be a lot of fun to photograph. And, I was the only photographer working this area, which was nice.
Greater Yellowlegs. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 lens, shot handheld while sitting at 420mm, ISO 500, 1/1250 sec.
This Greater Yellowlegs tolerated my presence very well and completely ignored me while searching for prey. Often times it would pass by so close that I couldn’t focus on it. Still, I was very careful to not disturb the bird or its prey so it could get a meal.
Over the half hour we spent together it caught several fish, one so big that he let it go because he couldn’t eat it. But it did catch this fish below and it took some effort to get it down.
Not to be outdone by the Yellowlegs, the nearby Willet found a shrimp. It was a big meal for this bird and it took a while for it to get it down as well.
After eating their meals, the Yellowlegs and Willet took a break and began preening. I hung around another 20 to 30 minutes to see if the Reddish Egret would make an appearance, but no luck there. Not seeing anything else on the beach with morning light fading fast, I decided to go to the Gulf Pier. This is my secondary shooting location where I primarily focus on birds-in-flight (BIF) photography. Usually there are Brown Pelicans, Snowy Egrets, and Great Egrets hanging around the pier to get a free meal from the anglers. I was not disappointed.
I walked out to the pier and the first thing I saw was about 30 Brown Pelicans treading water about 30 feet to the right of the pier. Immediately below the pier were huge schools of anchovies. The pelicans, as well as gulls and terns, were all fishing on the schools of bait fish. Lots of anglers were also using cast nets to catch bait, and about a dozen Snowys were there to pick up any fish that escaped the net.
Snowy Egret. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 lens, shot handheld at 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/1600 sec.
I walked to the end of the pier where I could get a better sun angle on the flying birds where I saw another photographer doing birds-in-flight photography. I asked him how he was doing and he replied. I recognized his voice and said, “Artie, is that you?” Indeed, it was Arthur Morris, a professional bird photographer and arguably one of the best bird photographers working today. I’ve been on a couple of his workshops where he does a wonderful job sharing tips and techniques that help you become a better photographer. He was there with a workshop participant, Anita from Canada. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to take one of his workshops. He offers them at Fort DeSoto, Alaska (Bald Eagles), San Diego (Brown Pelicans), and abroad locations such as the Galapagos and Iceland. You’ll learn a ton.
We traded fist bumps, talked for a few moments, and got back to work.
Birds were flying all around the pier and I took many bad shots. I did snag a few OK ones, but definitely more practice is needed. Who wants to go shoot birds in flight with me?
