Photo of the Month

"In the pre-dawn light this September morning, I sat concealed in my photo blind. Midst the Spartina grasses at the edge of a tidal lagoon, it was still quite dark. I could barely make out the silhouette of a bird, darting around the sea grasses for food. I eliminated two other suspects that hunt in a similar manner, the Reddish and Snowy Egrets. Both are considerably larger. As I sat waiting for the light to grow, his identifying yellow legs gave him away. Though invisible in this photograph, the bright yellow legs of the Lesser Yellowlegs, were busy below the surface of the cool blue water. The fishing was apparently good that morning too, as many of his friends, mostly Snowy Egrets, Tri-color and Little Blue Herons, stayed well into the morning hours feeding, preening, and just hanging out. Featured in September of my 2008 Lowcountry Calendar, I was particularly interested in the wake created as the Lesser Yellowlegs walked past me in chest high water."

Eric Horan

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Photo Tip: Your best chance to see and photograph wildlife is to be out there when THEY are most active. With wading birds, it’s early and late in the day.

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) is a medium-sized shorebird with long yellow legs, thin dark bill, white underbelly and modeled, grey-brown back, head and neck. Active foragers, their food includes crustaceans and occasionally small fish and seeds.

Distinctive behavior: On land and in the water they run and dart for food. They are similar to the Greater Yellowlegs but are smaller with a call that is a softer, shorter, two-noted ‘tu tu.’.

Conservation Status: Populations appear stable. This photo was shot at Widgeon Island in Beaufort County, a property that has recently been purchased and preserved by the Open Land Trust. For information on land preservation in Beaufort County, contact Cindy Basden at The Open Land Trust at www.openlandtrust.com or 843-521-2175.

Visit Eric Horan's Website southernlight.biz to learn more information