Even though I reached Bottle Beach two hours before high tide, I realized I should have been there at least an hour before when I was greeted by this Western Sandpiper
up on the sand. It turned out to be an extremely high tide — a reminder just how critical tides are in seeing birds.
Although there were lots of Western Sandpipers, there seemed to be an unusually high percentage of Black-Bellied Plovers
and I was able to get closer to them than usual.
I particularly liked this shot showing Black-Bellied Plovers in winter plumage, in the back, full-breeding colors, on the left, and in an intermittent stage.
I would love to have had more of a chance to get shots of the brilliantly colored Dowitchers,
but I did like this shot of them resting on this little “island.”