Willet

©Robert Harrington

Published: March 7, 2005

Robert Harrington of Vista, California, caught this Willet in flight at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, California.

Willets (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) are quite plain when foraging but show a bold pattern on their wings when they fly.

Despite attempting to determine what this bird was carrying, Harrington doesn't know. "I blew up the photo as much as I could to find out, but it just looks like a lump of coal," he says. "I don't think that's what it was!"

His camera was a Fuji S2 Pro, and the lens was a Nikon AFS 300mm f/4 with a 1.4x teleconverter, handheld.

You can see the bird at these great birdwatching hotspots:

Beaverhill Lake, Alberta, Canada
Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland, California
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

See a picture of a Willet preparing to land at Bolsa Chica Wetlands in California.

Directions, maps, bird lists, and tips for more easy-to-get-to birdwatching destinations.

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