nice stuff birdie! you've stolen all my birds for the winter but i'm glad to see they are providing good photo ops. i guess they'll be back here in the northeast soon enough. the loose crop on the willet is great, i really like the wave rolling behind him.
Great shots Birdie!! My fave is #1. I'll try at IDs. I do beleive 1 is a Willet, 2 is a Spotted Sandpiper, and 3 is a Ruddy Turnstone in winter plumage (I think).
Yep no. 3 is a Ruddy Turnstone, this one photographed near my house in Melbourne Australia.
When I observed the bird, I noticed it was limping, only when I got home and uploaded, I discovered three tags....
Tags seemed very tight, so I was concerned..
Managed to contact the people who tagged it, it was last tagged in King Island off South East Australia, and they reckoned that the tags were all fine and not too tight..........
Got to wonder though......
nice shot Chosek.
I've banded a lot of birds in the US, although never shorebirds and I've never seen anyone ever put a band on the upper section of the leg (as seen here). We always band on the metatarsus (the lower part of the leg) because the band can cause issues if it slips over the joint. We make sure the band is the proper size for the species and just to be sure we also measure to double check that the band is loose enough to spin and move a little on the leg but tight enough that it cannot slip up over the joint.
I must say I thought the placement of the silver band was strange when I first saw the image for reasons I mentioned, however, maybe this is simply because I am ignorant in the ways of shorebird banding and perhaps it does differ from the we band other birds. I can't say for sure. Really a great shot though!!
Well done again Birdie. In 3, it looks like there is a baby gator approaching the burd... I love the pose in 1, and it's an extra nice shot. 4 is another pick - great detail in the head and beak - a great looking image ~ Ron
