I love waders and White Rumped Sandpiper is one species I’ve only seen once before (and the photos were not too good), so with one being present down at St. Gothian Sands nature reserve near Hayle (Cornwall) for a few days gave me the chance to catch up with another.
A good job I chose to go on this day as it wasn’t seen again (It was still present and feeding well when I left so it wasn’t me that made it decide to move on!). A rare vagrant from North America and like many American waders it was quite approachable , feeding on a small pool.
I watched for some time and took a few record shots (as you do), without being disturbed by the many dog walkers, who I must say for once were very understanding and on seeing me and my camera/tripod gave me a wide berth and stopped their dogs from going into the pool.
I observed the direction in which the bird was going and decided to lie on the ground some way ahead of it, the Sandpiper approached and took no notice of me whatsoever and continued to feed just feet in front of me.
I love it when this happens as getting down to the same level as the subject always adds a little more feeling to the photograph.
Adrian Davey
Adrian Davey has had a passion for birds from an early age when he would spend his pocket money on packets of 'Swoop' wild bird food to get close to the birds in the garden. His love of birds and the wildlife found in the world around him has inspired him to try to capture them in photographs as they go about their everyday lives.Living near Launceston on the (Devon side now) Cornwall/Devon border allows plenty of opportunities to visit many beautiful locations, favorites being the North Cornwall coast, the Lands End area and the Exe estuary,as well as traveling further afield both in Britain and overseas.
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