Another winter expedition in the Bay of Puck area resulted in creating the gallery of new species, including the Purple Sandpiper. Was it really winter expedition? Although there are a few days left until the New Year comes, but the temperature was above zero all the time, what was quite peculiar for this time of year and more typical for spring. The wind was strong, so strong that it was better not to leave alone a tripod with a telephoto lens. Walking towards the breakwater on the Hel we met a soul-mate - ornithologist with an observation telescope. He, with a smile on his face, immediately informed us that on the breakwater he had spotted two purple sandpipers. The distance was too long to take satisfactory photos, but I have already created the first documentary image. We went to the breakwater and much to our delight sandpipers did not care about our presence. By reducing the distance from several tens to 5-8 meters the quality of pictures changed radically. Sandpipers feed on tiny invertebrates that live at the shore or just on concrete breakwaters. I wish I could take the pictures in this first scene, because the effect of colorful sand particles would intensify aesthetic impression even much more (see the sanderling’s gallery). But I do not want to be fretful, as purple sandpipers are among the birds which come flying to our country in very small number. They live in northern Europe, the coast of Greenland and North America, and northern Siberia. Purple sandpiper’s weight is about 100 grams, with a wingspan of about 40 centimeters. They penetrated very carefully the recesses of the breakwater fortifications, in search of food. Every now and then they jumped from one piece of the bank fortifications to another. Unfortunately, it was not always convenient to take pictures. I managed to take several interesting shots, especially when waves hit on the breakwater and splashed water around sandpipers. Taking into account that this is an opening gallery and that this species occurs so rarely in Poland, the result, at least to me, is very satisfying. It also should be said that this is already the fifth species of sandpiper published in my gallery. There are so many photos that they probably reflect the nature of environment in which this species occurs and its behavior, what is always important to me when animals are presented. Ok, let’s stop talking, I invite you to the gallery.
Last minute news 06/2014 – Iceland
When I was at the seaside, on my way to a place where I was going to photograph seals, I stopped for a moment and took some photos of the purple sandpiper and the common ringed plover feeding among all those bits and pieces which the sea had thrown out to the beach. That was my only encounter with these birds in Iceland. The photos in the startup gallery of this species show birds sitting on a breakwater, so the pictures taken later, on a colorful, sandy beach introduce a new, interesting variety to the previous gallery.
Last minute news - 07/2018 - Spitsbergen
Apart from the dunlin it is the most common sandpiper in Svalbard. It was a big surprise for me, because I hoped that among other birds feeding on the seashore there would be other species in such a place - and there we had nothing more! When on an uninhabited island we were looking for the thick-billed murre colony, a purple sandpiper took off from beneath our feet. The bird did not move too far, it ruffled up its feathers and moved slowly as if it pretended to be wounded. We already knew why it was like that. We frightened the bird away from the nest where a young purple sandpiper had just born. It was yet in an eggshell. Unfortunately, there were no photos from this watching, because it was only a few degrees above zero and it was raining. We quickly moved away, and then the caring parent returned to the nest as soon as we departed for several meters.
Last minute news- 09/2020 Heligoland – Germany
The Purple Sandpiper and the litle stint were the rarest birds observed during our 4-day stay in Helgoland. We watched individual birds. It's a pity the Purple Sandpiper was only on the smaller island. The brownish backgrounds on the rocky coast would add variety to the gallery. It was my fourth meeting with a sea runner, which you can see when looking at the varied gallery.…
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