So here's one of those frames that reveals my birding background. Bar-tailed Godwit is a Eurasian species which nests in Western Alaska but only reaches the rest of North America as a vagrant.
We might get 2-3 a year on the California Coast, but they're almost always in restricted access areas. Even if they're found in accessible areas, it's a bad idea to approach them too closely as
birders often drive great distances to view them. There's no faster way to get crucified on birding message boards than being the azzhole who scares a rarity away while pushing too close to
photograph it.
Anyway, as I have a strong hold in both the birding and photography communities, I've learned how to walk the line between the camps. This was one of those instances, and I was able to get
very close to this bird even as birders watched it. After ticking it for my list, I watched its behavior and figured I could approach it. That was a correct assumption, and the bird stayed put while
I crawled around it. This is one of those instances where it's really important to understand which people care about which birds. If I flushed a Marbled Godwit, a super common bird around here,
no one would care. But flushing this guy would have been bad news!
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS 1DX2
1/2500 at f/5.6, ISO 800, handheld
2-3 very small distractions removed. Do not want to remove more.
Bar-tailed Godwit - Very rare in California!
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