Hooded Plover

This is a magical shot of an adult Hooded Plover.

I’ve used a very shallow depth of field for this shot, just a narrow band of the shallow water is in focus, including the droplets that show the bird is moving through the water. The foreground and background are blurred which enables the bird to stand out clearly, and this adult is sharp from the tip of its bill to the end of its tail.

I love watching these tiny, endangered birds as they race back and forth along the beach foraging for tiny invertebrates. Hopefully with lockdowns easing I’ll be able to take a little trip down to their part of the world. They are so tiny that passersby often stop to ask me what I’m photographing. I’ve had some wonderful experiences when beach goers become enthralled with this sweet beach-nesting species.

I’ve told many stories about them and their chicks in previous posts, if you’d like to see more please use the search box. A couple of my favourite posts are The Whisper of a Child and, a longer one with images of tiny chicks 3, 2, 1, 0 Sadness but there are plenty of others to choose from. It’s been such a long time since I’ve had the chance to watch them, as I write this I’m longing for the chance to see them again. Interestingly, this bird is an adult but has either never been banded, which is unusual, or has lost its band somehow, also unusual.

Happy birding, stay safe, Kim

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