Also from Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. The Wilson's Phalarope can be found in flocks of tens of thousands. On this July day, I found dozens moving through marsh grass looking for food. I like the hazy light that make me feel the 95 degree heat of that summer day.
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I have found bitterns several times, but a photo had always eluded me until this past summer in Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. I was spending the day driving slowly along the fifteen mile gravel road as I searched for ducks, shorebirds, and grassland birds, when I saw this bittern, that quickly flew as soon as I saw it. However, it just as quickly dropped down, and I managed to approach it as it gave me its classic pose. I got maybe a dozen shots, and then it flew away over the marshland, far out of reach.
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This is a female Piping Plover. She and her mate are raising two chicks on the shore of Lake Superior
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The Piping Plover is an endangered species on Great Lakes nesting grounds. In other locations like the Northeast and the Plains, the species is threatened. On Lake Superior, it is Endangered because only a few pairs nest, so the Fish and Wildlife Service make a great effort to protect pairs that nest to ensure survival of the young. The nest itself is monitored with three wildlife cams and is protected by a cage that the parents can easily move in and out of at will. The cage protects the eggs from hungry gulls and unobservant pedestrians. The greater area around the nesting cage is also roped off.
The chick in this image is about one week old. It along with its sibling was scooting around the sandy beach area looking for insects to eat that live in the sand. I was able to lie in place as this precious little bird scooted rather hurriedly about.
As you can see, the FWS had already banded the chicks, which they do in the bird's 6th or 7th day.
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I found this pair at Whitefish Point. While this is not a difficult bird to find, I think terns look good, and I was happy to get a shot with the two of them together.
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