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Curlew Sandpiper
This Curlew Sandpiper was photographed at Awarua Bay.
I lay in this birds feeding path where these nice stones were hoping that he would cooperate - he did.Details: Canon 400d, Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO HSM, 1/2000, f/5.6, 200 ISO, with lens-foot on the mudflats. -
Curlew Sandpiper
This Curlew Sandpiper was photographed at Awarua Bay.
This little guy came up to almost a meter from me (way inside the minimum focus distance of my lens). He was so close that I could hear his tiny foot prints!Details: Canon 400d, Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO HSM, 1/2000, f/5.6, 200 ISO, with lens-foot on the mudflats.
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Size: 19 cm, 60 gm
Description: A slender wader with fine down curved bill. Black legs and eyes. Light underparts with grey streaks on breast. Pale grey/brown head and upper parts, white rump. Breeding adults start to develop a strong rusty colour before departure.
Habitat: Tidal flats, coastal lakes and estuaries. Most common at Miranda, Lake Ellesmere and Awarua Bay.
Status: Uncommon Arctic Migrant. 7th most common arctic wader to reach NZ each summer, 50-150 birds.
Breeding: June - July. Breed on the tundra of central arctic Siberia and islands of the Arctic Sea. 3-4 eggs laid in a scrape incubated by female.
Where and how to photograph: Once located they are easily approached by crawling slowly. They may come close while feeding. Try Awarua Bay or Lake Ellesmere.
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