![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/long-billed-curlew-9509-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"long-billed-curlew-9509-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n On that morning\u00a0I spent some time with a loose group of\u00a0two females and a male. Females have a slightly longer bill which is flatter near their head and slighty\u00a0more curved at the tip than that of the male which is gently curved throughout its length. This is a female.<\/p>\n Their intention was probably to forage for insects in the grasses and soil\u00a0but with the stiff north\u00a0wind and temps in the 30’s it was bone-chillingly cold and they spent much of their time motionless and facing into the wind. I caught this one walking which provided slightly more interest than\u00a0a static bird.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Curlews don’t show much color until they ruffle their feathers or take flight. This female revealed some of her cinnamon and orange-brown coloration when she roused.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n The purpose of that bizarrely long bill is to facilitate\u00a0capturing shrimp and crabs living in deep burrows on tidal mudflats (its wintering grounds) or burrowing earthworms and insects\u00a0in pastures but it also comes in handy when they’re preening feathers on their rump and tail which they can\u00a0do almost effortlessly. It’s another story though when they’re trying to\u00a0groom feathers on their neck and upper breast.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Even the shorter-billed male can reach those far away feathers with very few contortions and little effort.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This full frame image is one of my favorite shots from that morning. In other photos of this bird I have better eye contact with the head turned more toward me but I prefer this one because there’s better light on that long bill and I like the dreamy effect of the curlew looking off into the distance of that soft background.<\/p>\n That incredibly long bill must be cumbersome and inconvenient at times and for years I wondered how long the bill was of newly hatched curlew chicks. Obviously it couldn’t be proportionately as long as the\u00a0bill of an adult\u00a0inside the egg but until three\u00a0summers ago I’d never photographed or seen\u00a0a\u00a0very young chick up close so I really didn’t know.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n