The long-billed dowitcher.

I have had the privilege of seeing dowitchers twice; once just north of Calgary in 1983 and once at Red Deer in 2008. They are a type of sandpiper which means they spend their time on or near the shoreline of water bodies. Their migratory paths take them through most of Western Canada but do not actually breed there. They nest up north on the Aleutian Islands or at the northern tip of Alaska.

Sandpipers are carnivorous feeding on whatever aquatic invertebrates they can catch and swallow. This is done by a rapid piston-like movement of the bill into the soft substrate of mudflats and shorelines. Smaller prey is consummed immediately with bills submerged while larger items, such as marine sandworms, will be removed from the water entirely and eaten. Watching them eat can be rewarding; they tend to feed in groups and their quick undulating head and beak motions are quite comical.

I was living in BC at the time and was visiting Alberta as I frequently like to do (not so much during Covid). I was sitting in the shotgun position as we came into Red Deer and there, at the bottom of a small pond just off the road, was a small group of dowitchers feeding. It was a spectacular sight; I asked to be dropped off and headed for the busy flock. There was no cover to hide behind. It is easy to startle birds, especially ones that are not used to people, so I used a technique that has served me well in such situations before. I moved v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.

Crouching to reduce my relative size I took a few photos, waited a while, then moved forward a small distance. Before I moved I made sure the birds were engaged in their feeding practices and not watching me. They did stop from time to time but never fixated on my position. Each time I moved I would capture a few more images. I got quite close to them; I could almost fill the frame with a single bird. At the time I was using a Nikon D200 with a Sigma 100-300 mm lens; not a bad setup at the time but inferior by modern standards. However, it suited my needs and I came away with some nice photographs.

Although this method of approaching easily-startled subjects is time-consuming, it usually rewards the effort with positive results. I have done this with mostly birds; it also works with mammals. Reptiles and amphibians are usually harder to spot and so I begin the process much closer to a prospective target. Also, these cold-blooded organisms are less likely to move early in the morning than their warm-blooded counterparts.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen