Hey Richard - great detail on the feathers. There is a bit too much contrast in the foreground and background fro me. Looks like you were shooting in some pretty harsh light from the looks of the shadow.
Yes it's definitely a Dunlin.
Little Stint has much shorter bill.
I was just reading these are a known to have variable bill lengths in the population.
It was also unusual to come across just 2 individuals hanging out with Ringed Plover and Golden. I usually see these birds in flocks 100+
thanks for posting. - btw way too much slime to belly in though I was tempted.
Beautiful plumage on this dunlin. Sharp details and nice that you were able to get so close.
That being said, a suggestion here would have been to give up some shutter speed for an
f-stop of say 9 or 11, then zoom back just a wee bit to get even more depth of field, in order
to get more of the foreground in focus. Given your slightly elevated shooting angle, having
more of the foreground in focus would have been an subtle improvement (imo), to an already
pleasing image.
Definitely would have improved the image.
That said it was a pretty tough situation, worth a chuckle now . I was stalking them in a crouched position, killer on the knees! The slime/mud around them was about 3 inches deep, so all I could do was put one knee on the ground.
You're right on about killer on the knees.
I usually forgo that now and just crawl, even in slime like this. It smells and I usually get bitten
up some by flies etc., but after a shoot, I'll put the gear away and go wash off in the water, then
find a discreet place to change, bag the dirty clothes in a garbage bag, and away I go. Harder on
the clothes for sure, but much easier on the knees :)