Dusted Off White-Rumped

[Arthur Morris]

This adult White-rumped Sandpiper in full breeding plumage was photographed at Fort DeSoto south of St. Petersburg, FL on May 30, 2005 with the Canon 600mm f/4L IS lens, the 2X II TC, and the EOS-1D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/11. The usual beach clean-up.

Note the wings longer than the tail, the chevrons on the flanks, and the orange base to the lower mandible. The real, real jewels are the juvies that do not arrive on LI until about the first week of October. I have not seen one of them in 20+ years.... To learn more, check out my Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Lorant Voros]

Pretty sweet. Thanks for joining the White Rumped Fan club:).
Beautiful low angle, pose and sharpness. As one can expect it from the mater.

Lornt

[Daniel Cadieux]

Nice one Artie, I only ever saw one (a juvenile)...and luckily it came very close to me for proper photographs.

[Grace Scalzo]

This is sweet. Hate to rush the summer, but looking forward to hunting for the juvies in October. Is this individual a bit thin, or is just the profile? The one I photographed last pm was quite plump, of course horseshoe crabs and their eggs were plentiful.

[Karl Egressy]

This is the day of seeing great pictures of a rare to see shorebird species.
Fantastic shot, Artie.
The plumage is great. All the details and colours are just wonderful and the low angle
presentation makes it to be a gem.

[Chad Caswell]

Nice looking IQ with the 2x on board. Great looking shot Artie, nice find.

Chad

[Lorant Voros]

I have a question, Artie. How can I tell the difference between a molting adult and a juvi?

I hope it doesn't sound like a silly question.

Thank you,

Lorant

[Robert Holguin]

Wow sweet shot. Love, love the low angle. Great detail, and fabulous pose. Well done.

[noelle zaleski]

Love the really low angle on this one Artie

[Arthur Morris]

Is this individual a bit thin, or is just the profile? The one I photographed last pm was quite plump, of course horseshoe crabs and their eggs were plentiful.

Good observation. Part of the difference may be due to posture, but a good deal of it is due to how much fat each of the birds has layed on its breast.... They chow down to add the fat and then use it as energy not only to get up to the arctic but for egg-production and to help them survive the first week to ten days especially when the tundra is still covered with snow....

[Arthur Morris]

I have a question, Artie. How can I tell the difference between a molting adult and a juvi? I hope it doesn't sound like a silly question. Lorant

Not at all. In the field, it is all in the timing. The spring adults here, especially the one above, are in fairly bright breeding plumage. When this same bird heads south August through the fall it will be all gray with lots of worn breeding feathers admixed with incoming plain grey winter feathers. When the juvies show up in OCT/NOV they will show warm colors, lots of colorful feather edges, and a neat scalloped look (a lot like the three adults posted today).

I'd have to consult a field guide for fresh juvie vs. breeding adult but I do remember that the young birds have a wicked and distinctive brightly colored cap with a grey nape that is diagnostic.

I am not kidding when I say, To learn more, not only about this species but about all the regularly occurring NA species, check out my Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers. I am looking forward to seeing Dan's juvie soon.

[Arthur Morris]

Nice looking IQ with the 2x on board. Great looking shot Artie, nice find.
Chad

Especially for FLA! As I wrote in ABP II (916 pages on CD only), I used the 2X with both the 500 and the 600 about 40% of the time. With practice all competent photographers should be able to make sharp stuff down to 1/60 sec. with either. I can't wait for the new Series II super-telephotos with their four stop IS. They will be killer with the Series III TCs!

[arash_hazeghi]

Nice low angle and details

[Mark Young]

Wonderful image. I like your exposure here, was it an overcast day? Composition and low angle are very appealing.

[Arthur Morris]

It was a while ago but my memory and the exposure data indicate that it was cloudy bright.

[christopher galeski]

very nice,well sharp,good low angle,bang on BG,thanks.