Local shots of long-distance travellers

Where I live I can jump in my sea kayak and paddle across to a little island by the name of Bågø in about half an hour. The NW tip of said island is a pretty deserted place, very good for foraging waders in season. On one of my last trips there I brought my little tent-come-hide and pitched it late at night (almost missed the island in the dark!) and waited for things to unfold as the sun came out.

The early morning light is great for photography – but there isn’t much of it. So the Curlew Sandpiper here below was a challenge – and ultimately a contributing factor in my ditching the EOS 7D and trying for a 1D mkiii instead. I’m hoping the high-ISO performance of the 1D will prove to be better, but I haven’t seen enough to say anything meaningful about it yet.

Shooting Curlew Sandpiper in (partial) breeding plumage in Denmark is a short-lived endeavour. Most of them have changed into eclipse plumage by the time they get here, or do so within days of arriving. So I was lucky and pleased to have been so, and that is my justification for showing these technically sub-standard images here.

The Knots are a similar story, although my gut feeling is we get a few more days of summer plumage from them. I hope you like them!