The jaunt for the Eurasian curlew ended in encountering a new species – the broad-billed sandpiper. Unfortunately the place had been prepared for the Eurasian curlew, so I did not pay attention to some little plants growing just on the lake shore. They weren’t an obstacle in photographing the Eurasian curlew, but for the broad-billed sandpiper it would make much difference. The broad-billed sandpiper is a bit bigger than our sparrow. It weighs about 50 gram and has a wingspan of approximately 30 centimeters. So, even some tiny plants were an obstacle in photographing, however I managed to take a few pictures in order to create the presented gallery.
Last minute news-08/2020
Finally, after six years, my second encounter with the Broad-billed sandpiper. This time it wasn’t accidental, if you can use such a term in nature photography - planned. He was the target of another trip to Mikoszewo. The awaited meeting with this Broad-billed sandpiper was preceded by several earlier, unsuccessful attempts to observe him at the Polish coast . Less than a month ago, almost nothing happened on the beaches in Mikoszewo, to come back at the end of August and observe the beaches full of birds. Of course, variable Dunlins dominated. There were hundreds of them and sometimes they approached the photographers lying on the beach by several dozen centimeters, and there were also a lot of them this time. Apart from the abundance of birds, one should also mention the pleasant atmosphere among photographers and observers. Our idyll was disturbed only by random holidaymakers who thoughtlessly, or even worse, maliciously scared the birds away while riding a bike or walking along the shore. Apart from the variable dandelions, less numerous were Curlew Sandpiper, then even less numerous plovers and little stints. Among these hundreds of birds, the most eagerly awaited for many observers and photographers were broad-billed sandpipers, perhaps the least numerous on the beach. Our record of observing them in one place is four individuals. A little bit of patience, several attempts at shooting in several places over the course of three days, and finally we managed to take so many photos that, in order not to overload the gallery, we had to choose from hundreds of successful shots. May it always be so. Of course, there is no trace of the old achievements on the website, and the new version of the Broad-billed sandpiper Gallery is new and changes its status from documentation to very good.