I recently spent some time on Sanibel Island where the beach birds are habituated to people and are very tame. I had the opportunity to take many photos of snowy plovers so I thought I would put together a very brief tutorial on body language. Snowy plovers have very expressive body language, if you know what to look for, and therefore make a good subject for this demonstration. Not all birds have body language this expressive, but the general principles should still apply. My intent is to help folks understand and interpret what they are seeing.
Photos A, B, and C were taken from a distance of about 20 feet. Photo A: A relaxed bird. Note how the body feathers are fluffed out giving it almost a puff-ball look. The wings are tucked into the side pockets of belly feathers, and the eye is not open to its fullest extent. Photo B: An alert bird - a little bit wary. Note the body feathers are not fluffed out as much as in Photo A. The wings are out of the side pockets, and the eye is bigger and rounder. Photo C: The same bird as in Photo B, but a few seconds later. A dog is on the beach some 50 yards away and the bird is alarmed. The bird is crouched down for concealment on the open beach and is also ready to spring into flight. The body feathers are sleeked tight against the body - note how different the head shape is compared to Photos A & B. Also, the eye has become relatively huge as the bird focuses its senses on the predator.
I find that photography is more enjoyable when I know some of the biology. To that end, I hope this helps some of you. :)
And now, a few followup comments about dogs and birds. In my experience over the last 20+ years, I can say that dogs cause more disturbance to birds on a beach than anything except perhaps a fly-over by a peregrine falcon. Birds that pretty much ignore humans walking by within 15-20 feet will show alarm when a dog is 50-100 yards away. It doesn't matter whether the dog is a small lap-dog or a large labrador retriever - the birds view it as a dangerous predator. Unfortunately, I have yet to see a dog walker who didn't appear completely oblivious to the stress and disturbance their pet is causing to the beach birds. :(
Last edited by Steve Maxson; 01-31-2009 at 11:53 AM.
Thanks for the photographs and the followup on dogs, Steve. I completely agree with you. I have seen Red Knot flocks repeatedly flushed by little tiny dogs being walked on Florida beaches...the same birds that show relatively little care for me. Like you say the dogs can be 100 yards down the beach and entire flocks will flush. The dog and owner then walk up to me and wonder what the heck I am photographing...I guess it's my responsibility to inform them about the situation. I'm not sure how most of them will ever find out on their own.
I like this illustration Steve. I've seen the same thing with feeder birds, totally unrelated to shorebirds. From a evolutionary standpoint I suppose that having your feathers flat makes for a quicker getaway if the need arises.
Totally agree on the last point re biology and photography. That's one of the aims of this forum!
Body Language tutorial
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