(Non-breeding plumage)
|
Where: Outer Banks, NC • Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Notes: Most of the time I take so many photos of the same encounter I have a hard time figuring out if any one picture is better than any of the others. But this was the one and only image I got of this non-breeding plumage Ruddy Turnstone probing this seaweed clump. Before I had time to take a second shot, it had moved around behind the seaweed pile and I could no longer see its head or legs. Slightly before this capture I had laid on the beach about eight feet back from the edge of the surf with my elbows in the sand propping up my camera and long lens. Then I waited as this Turnstone mixed in with some Sanderlings came towards me up the beach, feeding in the wet surf sand. The very low angle of view, sharp focus and short focal length make this my favorite capture from that morning.
|