If you haunt the banks of Montana’s riverbanks this time of year, you will more than likely find young waxwings foraging. Both Cedar and Bohemian kids take advantage of the summer bug hatch to feast now that mom & dad are no longer providing for them. While they are missing their spots on their wings, being young, they don’t know to be shy around people, so they come right in. Now they don’t hold still for long as they are foraging and the hatching bugs, but they land constantly to refocus their efforts. Finding those perches, be it a twig, a rock or the ground, and working your way up to those perches when they are out foraging, you can have a lot of fun while getting some nice images. It’s a way to take advantage of when the kids hit the river.

Solid overcast can at times, be a real photo buzz killer! There is a reason why folks say with downturned lips, “It’s a gray day.” When on the shore and these conditions are present, I look for terns. Their pop of bright color really makes them pop in this light. And this light makes bringing all the detail in their feathers really crisp. On this morning, the terns were T’d up on these pilings, and the water in the background reflected the gray skies. All that was needed was to wait for their common trait of looking over their back and complaining at their landing neighbor. Or as I think of it, the ‘ol tern around.

One of our larger shorebirds, it has long been a favorite bird of mind. That is in part because when I first got my 800f5.6EDIF, it was the first species to let me get close and make a favorite vertical. Ever since, I’ve been a Willit connoisseur. The vast majority of the time, we experience them in their winter drab, which is OK, but they can do better. There are two locations I know of in the lower 48 where you can photograph them in their breeding plumage which is what you see here. In their breeding best, they are a spectacular bird. They have a crazy call, crazy breeding courtship flight, and are overall, charismatic. They always leave me wondering, willit?

For the last week, there has been a new crew of kids coming to the suet feeders at the hide. It’s been fun to see who will appear that day. Today, it was a Hairy Woodpecker (didn’t get a shot of it, though, yet). They are so much fun to watch, especially on their first visits. They look at their parents as if to say, “what that yellow stuff in the cage?” Even the Magpies seem to wonder (we have 15 of their kids right now!). This provides time to get glass on them and make the clicks. This is the fifth generation for all of these except the Lewis’s. This means their parents grew up with the lens watching them, a comfort level that they pass along to their kids. This means great photo possibilities for the kids being kids. We love this time of the year because, here come the kids!

A lot of bird species have elaborate displays to attract a mate. That’s not what this is all about. Nope, not one bit! Working a marsh on the Delaware coast, found this little tidal creek that was just sucking in the shorebirds. They were feasting on the eggs of the Horseshoe Crabs. Semipalmated Sandpipers are smaller than your fist, but they can pack away the food. Besides fueling up to continue their migration north, they are, pigs. Well, they seem to be a bit greedy and defensive, too. That’s what is happening here, one individual defending his small patch of eggs from another. I’ve seen and photographed this once before with Sanderlings, but never heard about it for Semipalmated Sandpipers. Who Knew?