Sunday, June 5, 2011

Spotted Sandpiper

SPOTTED SANDPIPER (ACTITIS MACULARIUS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 30, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/2000 sec. f10
ISO 1600

This species of sandpiper, one of the many small shore birds the locals call "peeps" for their peet-weet-weet calls, often displays an exaggerated bobbing motion that suggests it's a few feathers short of a headdress. It's also one of the few shore birds that actually will dive underwater to escape a predator. For a few years they seemed to have disappeared from our Lake Superior beach, but if so they've come back in goodly numbers.

No comments: