Saturday, September 24, 2011

21 seconds in a Sanderling's life...

8:18:07 - 8:18:28 are the time stamps from the first photo in this series to the last--21 seconds. That's what's cool about photography--freezing time, and then going back to study it. When you shoot into a flock of birds, you never know what you'll see. Even though the flock moves and acts as one, the individuals don't. They preen and stare and loaf and sleep, all at different times...and they watch. Different eyes at different times are watching in different directions. All it takes is one false move on the photographer's part, and one bird in the flock to witness it, and they are gone en masse. In the following series, two Cute Sanderlings watch me surreptitiously as they go about their business...until at the end when Cute Sanderling #2 seems a little more direct...






"...for Heaven's sake, haven't you seen enough? Move along camera lady..."

I photographed this small flock of Sanderlings while birding on the shores of Lake Erie at Magee Marsh with Rob Ripma (The Nutty Birder), Rob Mortensen (Birding is Fun!), Cack, Lulu, and Corky. Click here for an earlier post of this outing and close-ups of a Sanderling's feathers.

26 comments:

Kerri Farley said...

Wonderful post Kelly! Your images are always amazing .... and Educational too :)
I've been sharing your posts on twitter and everyone is LOVING them!

Roy said...

Perfect.{:)
"Yes just move along Lady."

Kelly said...

...thank you, Kerri! One of my goals is to Twitter-ize myself and soon. I also need to get active on Facebook too so I can share other's posts. I always love all of your photography. I'd definitely tweet it out!!

Kelly said...

...hehehe....thanks, Roy!

Anonymous said...

LOVELY photos, as always!

I find myself using Facebook less and less lately (and the sweeping overhaul coming to it soon makes me even more inclined to abandon ship), but Twitter is great fun once you get into it.

John said...

Hi Kelly,
Stunning series of the `Windy up` birds!
J
Follow me at HEDGELAND TALES

Kelly said...

...thanks, Rebecca. I don't know why I can't figure out Facebook. I get overwhelmed with all the info and fly away. I really need to get with the times, though and start tweeting. A lot of people have asked me to tweet too.

John...thanks, John. They are windy-up birds, aren't they! I'll head over to Hedgeland Tales now!

Unknown said...

Sometimes the photos end up making the experience better than real life. So much rich detail. Wonderful!

Marie said...

Sanderlings on the shores of Lake Erie! I had no idea--I thought they were salt-water birds. Wonderful shots, they are gorgeous in their breeding plumage.

holdingmoments said...

Lovely captures of these birds Kelly.

Unknown said...

lovely bird photos..there plumage is spectacular ...but...I love the look of the pebbles too and my eyes go to them also
Happy Autumn

- KAT -
(ps...I bought that big piece of slate this week and I am painting on it..soon to be revealed on my blog. )

Bob Bushell said...

They are so "cute". The Sanderling is a rare thing, I hope that I will capture them, and as good as yours.

TexWisGirl said...

they are very sweet.

Pam Johnson Brickell said...

Love seeing their plumage up close!

Elaine said...

Delightful little group!

Carol Mattingly said...

That is funny how it just looks at you like that. Too cool Kelly. Carol

Carole M. said...

they're just beautiful and yes cropping from the bigger picture often opens up new and wonderful discoveries. Love these photos and how nature works, those birds plumage the same as the gritty shores they rest upon. Even photos of those sands would be beautiful.

grammie g said...

Hi Kelly...Awesome.. just super-duper shot's!! : }}

Montanagirl said...

Sweet birds- Exceptional photos!

Chris said...

Excellent, these shots are wonderful Kelly. I was wondering where were ours ;-) Maybe just in fromt of your lens ;-)

Kelly said...

...thanks, everyone! I think we all feel the same...these little "toy" birds are fun to watch, and they are amazing in their flight. I can never get enough of them!

Gaina said...

They are such sweet little birds. Have you ever considered photographing sequences like that and pasting the photos together to create a stop-motion animation?

Kelly said...

Gaiana.....I would love to do that. I just need to learn how! That would be really cool. Thank you for the idea!!

Kathie Brown said...

Sanderlings have to be just about one of the curtest birds on earth! Great shots Kelly!

Mary said...

Love them!

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,
My name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about Sanderling to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you!
Jane