2005_0124 American Avocet
The shorebird migration is gaining momentum! And the best place within easy reach to see them is Reed Lake, about 170 km north and east of my location. Not an impossible drive, but if I want to be there for the good light that means getting up very early. So... alarm set for 3:30 a.m.... I was able to roll out of bed in a good mood and hit the road... a little later than hoped for, but still a respectable effort. I would have been there by dawn if I had not taken the time for a leisurely cup of coffee while tossing a photo up on my Flickr page before leaving. Oh, and stopping five or six times for landscape shots when the pre-dawn glow was just too alluring to resist.
Nevertheless, I was there for some excellent light, and the American Avocets were present - hundreds of them, maybe thousands - and co-operative. In ten days or so most of them will have moved on farther north to their preferred breeding grounds; for now, this location is rich with photo ops.
We do get shorebirds in and around Grasslands. Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, and others pass through or stay to breed. But at Reed Lake there are chances for exotica, including Hudsonian Godwit and Red-necked Phalarope. I was too early for both of these, but plan to try again next week. Meanwhile, this avocet in its gorgeous breeding plumage is my early favourite among yesterday's shots.
Photographed at Reed Lake, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2005_0124 American Avocet
The shorebird migration is gaining momentum! And the best place within easy reach to see them is Reed Lake, about 170 km north and east of my location. Not an impossible drive, but if I want to be there for the good light that means getting up very early. So... alarm set for 3:30 a.m.... I was able to roll out of bed in a good mood and hit the road... a little later than hoped for, but still a respectable effort. I would have been there by dawn if I had not taken the time for a leisurely cup of coffee while tossing a photo up on my Flickr page before leaving. Oh, and stopping five or six times for landscape shots when the pre-dawn glow was just too alluring to resist.
Nevertheless, I was there for some excellent light, and the American Avocets were present - hundreds of them, maybe thousands - and co-operative. In ten days or so most of them will have moved on farther north to their preferred breeding grounds; for now, this location is rich with photo ops.
We do get shorebirds in and around Grasslands. Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, and others pass through or stay to breed. But at Reed Lake there are chances for exotica, including Hudsonian Godwit and Red-necked Phalarope. I was too early for both of these, but plan to try again next week. Meanwhile, this avocet in its gorgeous breeding plumage is my early favourite among yesterday's shots.
Photographed at Reed Lake, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.