Figure 1 – Semipalmated Plover, Goose Rocks Beach, Cape Porpoise, Maine. (c) DE Wolf 2015.

I have one more bird photograph to share from my recent mini-vacation in Kennebunkport, Maine. It shows a semipalmated plover – Charadrius semipalmatus  and was taken with my “big” lens. I love the plovers. They chase along the beach just at the surf’s edge in hunt for whatever is brought ashore. Like many such birds these plovers insist that you maintain an acceptable social distance. And this is not without reason. During the late nineteenth century they were hunted nearly to extinction. Happily the species has made a healthy return.

As for the name “semipalmated,” literally this means a plover with a partial palm. This refers to the fact that the bird’s toes are partially webbed together, creating what looks like the palm of the hand.

What I like about the bird in Figure 1 is that he is looking out to the sea and also the minimalism of the surrounding flotsam. We have a tendency to anthropomorphize and may wonder if he is contemplating the weighty issues of the universe. But I am pretty sure that he is only looking for his lunch and at the same time wary of aerial attack by raptors.

Canon T2i with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens at 260 mm, ISO 400 Aperture Priority AE Mode 1/1600th sec at f/6.3 with no exposure compensation.