Nome, Alaska
Bar-tailed godwits that breed in western Alaska winter in New Zealand. While many birds stop to refuel in Southeast Asia along the way, they are capable of making the 7,500 mile trip to New Zealand nonstop, a journey that takes 9 days.
Big shout-out to Matt Studebaker! The birds were at mile 25 of the Teller Road, as described in his Nome guide. They flew right up to me when I got out of the truck.
www.flickr.com/photos/studebakerbirds
Tags: bar-tailed godwit godwit shorebird bird Pfuhlschnepfe Nome Seward Peninsula Alaska Christian Hunold
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Nome, Alaska
Tags: whimbrel shorebird bird Regenbrachvogel Nome Seward Peninsula Alaska Christian Hunold
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Nome, Alaska
There are less than 10,000 of this species. These shorebirds winter on South Pacific islands and breed on a few hills in western Alaska.
www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/bristle-thighed-curlew
Tags: bristle-thighed curlew shorebird bird Borstenbrachvogel Council Road Nome Seward Peninsula Alaska Christian Hunold
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Nome, Alaska
I spent about an hour lying down at the edge of a bog until one of these cute little shorebirds landed in the right spot. After a day of shooting the D500/200-500 mm combo, it seems to me that the lens's resolving power and the camera's sensor are a perfect match.
Tags: red-necked phalarope shorebird bird Odinshühnchen Nome tundra Seward Peninsula Alaska Christian Hunold
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Skookum Pass, Alaska
How the shorebird colors make sense on the open tundra - as opposed to the beach where I usually see them - has been one of the eye-opening experiences of this trip. Each species blends in with the texture and coloring of its particular nesting habitat, an adaptation that makes raptors, jaegers, and foxes have to work just that little bit harder for their meal.
Tags: semipalmated plover shorebird bird Amerikanischer Sandregenpfeifer tundra Nome Skookum Pass Seward Peninsula Alaska Christian Hunold
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