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Common Sandpiper


Common Sandpiper
Photo Information
Copyright: Peter van Zoest (PeterZ) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2011-04-26
Categories: Birds
Camera: Nikon D300, AF Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6 G, Digital RAW
Exposure: f/11, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2011-08-08 7:16
Viewed: 3558
Points: 72
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper (A. macularia), make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize. Hybridization has also been reported between the Common Sandpiper and the Green Sandpiper, a basal species of the closely related shank genus Tringa.

Description
The adult is 18–20 cm long with a 32–35 cm wingspan. It has greyish-brown upperparts, white underparts, short dark-yellowish legs and feet, and a bill with a pale base and dark tip. In winter plumage, they are duller and have more conspicuous barring on the wings, though this is still only visible at close range. Juveniles are more heavily barred above and have buff edges to the wing feathers.

This species is very similar to the slightly larger Spotted Sandpiper (A. macularia) in non-breeding plumage. But its darker legs and feet and the crisper wing pattern (visible in flight) tend to give it away, and of course they are only rarely found in the same location.

Ecology
It is a gregarious bird and is seen in large flocks, and has the distinctive stiff-winged flight, low over the water, of Actitis waders. The Common Sandpiper breeds across most of temperate and subtropical Europe and Asia, and migrates to Africa, southern Asia and Australia in winter. The eastern edge of its migration route passes by Palau in Micronesia, where hundreds of birds may gather for a stop-over. They depart the Palau region for their breeding quarters around the last week of April to the first week of May.

The Common Sandpiper forages by sight on the ground or in shallow water, picking up small food items such as insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates; it may even catch insects in flight.

It nests on the ground near freshwater. When threatened, the young may cling to their parent's body to be flown away to safety.

The Common Sandpiper is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
It is widespread and common, and therefore classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN but is a vulnerable species in some states of Australia.

Source: Wikipedia
Dis. Ac., PaulLees, Argus, joska, maaciejka, ellis49, siggi, rousettus, marius-secan, uleko, pegos, bungbing, cirano, Pitoncle, mikou, anel, buscape, Tamrock, eqshannon, ana974, Alex99, maurydv, jusninasirun has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hallo Peter,

een mooie opname van deze moie steltloper.
Goed laag standpunt en uitstekende scherpte.
Prachtige natuurlijke kleuren met veel detailering in de verder partij.

Gert

Hi Peter,

Wow what a lovely image of this Common Sandpiper my friend, exceptional exposure/white balance control with good detail in the whites, splendid colour definition with a nice highlighted eye, great work here Peter and very well done,
Best regards,

Pauly.

  • Great 
  • Slrbb (87)
  • [2011-08-08 8:07]

Great capture Peter!! Excellent details on the bird and the yellow stuff on the shore adds to the beauty! Well composed :)

Srini.

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2011-08-08 8:23]

Hello Peter,
A very fine capture of a Common Sandpiper. I like the lighting, composition on the shore with the water BG, the natural colours and excellent sharpness, especially of the eye.
A nice one from Lesvos!
Thanks and have a good week,
Ivan.

hallo Peter
Weer aanwezig Peter
En met een mooie van uit de Vakantie
super scherp en super kleuren
leuke compositie zo aan het water
Een mooi plaatje
bedankt groetjes lou

Hi Peter,
beautiful bird, nice composition. well captured feather details. with best regards.
Jurek

Hello Peter
Beautiful photo with excellent composition and wonderful colours.
Regards,
Christodoulos

  • Great 
  • joska Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 806 W: 0 N: 4092] (22535)
  • [2011-08-08 9:06]

Hi Peter,
Excellent photo of this Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos, very good sharp and colorful details, TFS!

Hi Peter,
very nice photo of this bird. Amazing colours. Very good composition. Nice portrait.
Thanks for sharing,
Maciek

Hello Peter,
you managed to takae a really food picture of this common sandpiper.
The pictue is sharp with good details and well exposed with fine natural colours. I also like the composition, very nice.
Well done, mf.
Regards
Gert

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3097 W: 109 N: 12399] (52850)
  • [2011-08-08 10:12]

Hello Peter.
Sharpness and details are exceptional.POD and DOF are very good.I like the colors and the catch light in the eye.Best regards Siggi

hello Peter
nice to see your posts again. this is very close to Turkiye. I have seen lastly this beautiful bird one hour ago. It gives nice pose to bird photographers, as like this.
your shot is also great with sharp focus, POV, exposure and lighting. nicely composed. thanks for sharing. all the best
Ahmet

Hello Peter,
Fantastic image with a superb bird. The exposure and composition is great.
Outstanding colors and very good clarity.
Thanks for sharing!
Marius.

Excellent photo of the bird against a good background of blue.Good details and composition. regards yiannis

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2011-08-08 11:49]

Hello Peter,
A very fine capture of the Common Sandpiper keeping watch by the edge of the water. Great focus and beautiful light and colours. Very well composed too.
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

  • Great 
  • pegos Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 222 W: 0 N: 356] (1982)
  • [2011-08-08 11:56]

Hello Peter,
excellent shot with a beautiful composition,very good sharpness and detail, the colors are very nice and natural.
A picture really well done
Regards
Enrico

Hello Peter,
Very nice captured of this Common Sandpiper, very good exposure, great details sharpness, very good composition and beautiful colours,
Thanks for sharing and have a nice evening,
Best Regards,
Bungbing.

Buen encuadre y maravilloso fondo para esta simpática limícola que
también creo que tenemos por esta zona.
Un abrazo: J. Ignasi.

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659] (65489)
  • [2011-08-08 16:28]

Hi Peter,the best focus,sharpness and light balance on the sandpiper and a magnificent composition too,this dark water seems perfect to contrast the bird,beautiful colors of ground too.Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

  • Great 
  • cirano Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 997 W: 0 N: 944] (13609)
  • [2011-08-08 16:35]

Hello Peter,
An excellent photo of this Sandpiper,nice colors and excellent sharpness.
Have a nice night!...
Dûrzan

wonderful photo performance, I like the colors!
regards Nasos

Bonjour Peter,
Agréable valorisation du sujet dans une bonne composition opposant judicieusement les couleurs de l'oiseau à celles de l'arrière-plan.
A bientôt sur TN pour de nouvelles aventures.
Gérard

  • Great 
  • mikou Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 869 W: 68 N: 1479] (6093)
  • [2011-08-09 5:57]

Hi Peter.
Very beautiful picture with this Common Sandpiper. Well capture fine details on plumage, nicely composed and amazing fine colors.
TFS and best regards
Milos

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3053 W: 3 N: 8715] (40574)
  • [2011-08-09 6:21]

Hello Peter,
A fine bird shown in its natural surrounding. I like the subtle colors of this picture, the light was fine too, may be the white parts of the plumage are slightly overexposed. Lovely waves of the water too.
Thanks and kind regards
Anne

  • Great 
  • nagraj Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1618 W: 106 N: 3208] (15166)
  • [2011-08-09 6:54]

Hi,
Very cute little bird in good composition and with fine lighting, lovely image. tfs.
nagraj.v

Hello Peter,
fine shot of this littl.e bird with good sharpness and nice eye contact. I especially like the beautiful colours and the good exposure.
Best wishes,
Helmut

Hola Peter.

Excelente disparo,gran detalle y DOF y colores magnificos.Una luz perfecta.Saludos y que tengas una buena tarde.
Paco.

hello peter!
A very nice pic in the sandpiper with
good sharpness and fine composition!
good work!

I would love to be near the sea again in order to see these. Of course my love is for the ocean, but children and grandkids keep me here so I will have to enjoy your good works Peter.
Bob

  • Great 
  • ana974 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 477 W: 48 N: 968] (4857)
  • [2011-08-09 19:16]

Hello Peter!
Great shot! Wow! Lovely colors and composition.Amazing sharpness and nice details.I love the colors of the water.So cute the little bird! A explendid job! Congrats and thanks for sharing with us!
Regards from,
aNa

PS: thanks for visiting my gallery!I appreciated it!

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4072 W: 133 N: 7096] (23735)
  • [2011-08-10 4:41]

Hi Peter.
The highest quality of the picture. Exceptional 3D-effect, superb cleanest of the lovely colours and precise exposure. All details of the bird and surroundings are ultimate. I love the most impressive framing of the scene and composition of the image. Well done and compliments. Great job.
Alexei.

Peter,
You say common sand piper? You brought this bird to it’s right with this photograph! Fantastic detail in it’s natural environment, colour and slightly faded BG. Well done.
Regards,
Carl

Hello Peter,
Excellent close photo of this Common Sandpiper captured with great details and very beautiful colours. I also like the POv and composition. Well done!
Regards,
Mircea

Hallo Peter,
a very beautiful capture of the Common Sandpiper, very goood sharpness, splendid colours and lighting, nice composition
TFS
Best regards
Maurizio

Ciao Peter, lovely bird on a beautiful blurry BG, fine details, wonderful natural colors and splendid sharpness, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Hello Peter.
I like the perch of this sandpiper at the edge of the water. The bird is sharp and vivid plumage details. The silenced water adds contrast to the frame.
Kind regards.
Jusni

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