Least Sandpiper (juvenile) II

[Brian Barcelos]

Took this one yesterday evening an hour before sunset. This guy was very friendly and even decided to take a nap about 5 feet from where I was laying. Hopefully he doesn't stay that easy going because there were some obnoxious kids there that I fear might take to kicking these poor defenseless little ones.
I cloned out a few distracting pieces of seaweed that were in the foreground and ran some noise reduc, also cropped a little off the bottom and right for better comp. Hope you like it. All C/C appreciated.
Brian

Canon EOS 20D
Manual Exposure
Tv 1/1250
Av 6.3
Evaluative Metering
ISO 400
Tamron 200-500mm
Focal Length 500mm

[Aidan Briggs]

Sweet early morning light, dynamic pose, and exposure control. I would sharpen the bird a bit more, and run NR on the BG.

[Harshad Barve]

fantastic pose , lovely details , agreed about round of NR & sharpning
TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Brian, If you have a side view of this individual, could you please post it. Thanks!

[Arthur Morris]

fantastic pose , lovely details , agreed about round of NR & sharpning
TFS

I disagree as to the "fantastic pose." When the birds are angling towards you, it is almost always best if they are at pretty close to a 45 degree angle to your position. Here, with the bird's back end completely out of sight, the pose and the COMP seem quite awkward to me.

And yes to lots more sharpening. I like the low angle. Three inches lower would have been even better as the darker BKGR areas would be moved well down in the frame. EXP is right on and I liked the raised foot.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the angle, light, walking pose and eye contact. Another vote for NR on the BG and I would sharpen the bird more.

[Brian Barcelos]

Here is for Arties request. Any reason you wanted a side view? I'm guessing I improperly aged this bird.:p

Thanks for all C/C, I'm going to make adjustments when I get a chance.

Brian

[Brian Barcelos]

And here is the re post with NR and extra contrast/sharpening. Thanks again for all suggestions.

Brian

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Brian,

re:

Here is for Arties request.

Thank you sir.

Any reason you wanted a side view?

Yes. One reason to be precise.

I'm guessing I improperly aged this bird.:p

No. You aged it correctly. (If you were not sure that you did, you do need a copy of "Shorebirds, Beautiful Beachcombers."

When I saw the original post, that thick bill did not seem right for least and I noticed what seemed like a bit of webbing between the toes. So I e-mailed Richard Crossley, one of the three authors of the Shorebird ID guide. He said, "It's a least." But now that I view the repost, it is a perfect juvenile Semipamated Sandpiper with light olive yellowish legs. (They often show that feature....) I just wrote Richard and asked him to take a look. This would be the first time ever that I was right and he was wrong. That is, if I am right. I would bet on this one.

Thanks for all C/C, I'm going to make adjustments when I get a chance.

BTW, the repost is a far more powerful image than the original post for many reasons including the fact that it is far sharper.

[Brian Barcelos]

Thanks for all the attention Artie, you sure know how to make a guy feel special, wink, wink. Oh bye the way, I do own "Shorebirds, Beautiful Beachcombers" and that's what I based my findings on. This is the first year I've even noticed shorebirds as I've been ignorant in the past in believing all there were at beaches were gulls and swimmers.
BTW, wonderfully informative book with lots of great images.

Brian

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for all the attention Artie, you sure know how to make a guy feel special, wink, wink. Oh bye the way, I do own "Shorebirds, Beautiful Beachcombers" and that's what I based my findings on. This is the first year I've even noticed shorebirds as I've been ignorant in the past in believing all there were at beaches were gulls and swimmers. BTW, wonderfully informative book with lots of great images.
Brian

Hey Brian, All that I ever want to do is get it right. Glad that you have the book. As it says there, it is often easier to age a shorebird correctly than to identify it as to species. I have loved shorebirds since the very beginning. In 1985 I found New York State's first Red-necked Stint at the East Pond at JBWR. It was called Rufous-necked Stint back then.