The Howland Picture Pages: Willet

Page by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2004/02/25 04:08:04 $ (UTC)

The Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) is a large-ish shorebird in the Scolopacidae family, which includes Sandpipers and similar birds. The Willet's range is kind of interesting. It winters along the West and Southwest coast of the U.S. and Mexico, and can be found year-round along the East and Southeast coast. In the summer Willets can be found not all that far north, in the central prairie regions of Western Canada and the Northwest United States. They prefer muddy wetlands, creeks, lakes and similar prairie habitats. Thus it's a bird that we don't have to work too hard to encounter in our area of Alberta.

The Willet can be distinguished from other shorebirds by its size, straight dark bill, and dark legs. If you see one flying, look also for bold white and black wing flashes. You can also listen for the Willet's call, since it can be quite noisy.

Resources where you can find out more:

• Willet profile at weaselhead.org
• Willet profile at the USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter

	Saturday, July 12, 2003 we took a short road trip out to some prairie birding locations outside of Calgary, including Bruce Lake and the sloughs at Irricana. At the lake, we got an excellent view of this Willet, one of a pair which were quite fond of perching on fence posts to check us out. This photo was taken with a digiscoping setup. EXIF 2.2 photo info:   320 x 559 true color Exposure time: 1/209.90 F-stop: 6.4 ISO speed: 100 Focal length: 17.1000 (plus Pentax PF-80EDA scope & William Optics DCL-28 eyepiece) Exposure mode: Auto White balance: Auto Exposure bias: 0.0000 Metering mode: Pattern Exposure program: Aperture priority Gain control: None Contrast: Normal Saturation: High Sharpness: Hard Camera make: NIKON Camera model: E4500
(click image for larger photo)	Here the Willet is squawking, which it did a lot of. If you look at the larger image, you might see some "teeth" at the upper back of the bill. This photo was taken with a digiscoping setup. EXIF 2.2 photo info:   320 x 369 true color Exposure time: 1/205.90 F-stop: 6.4 ISO speed: 100 Focal length: 17.1000 (plus Pentax PF-80EDA scope & William Optics DCL-28 eyepiece) Exposure mode: Auto White balance: Auto Exposure bias: 0.0000 Metering mode: Pattern Exposure program: Aperture priority Gain control: None Contrast: Normal Saturation: High Sharpness: Hard Camera make: NIKON Camera model: E4500 Larger photo info:   640 x 739 true color 289KB
(click image for larger photo)	This was our last view of the Willet. As we started to drive away from the lake, the bird made another circuit between the water and fence posts. I took this shot through the car window as we pulled up level with the post. EXIF 2.2 photo info:   320 x 386 true color Exposure time: 1/267.90 F-stop: 6.6 ISO speed: 100 Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter) Exposure mode: Auto White balance: Auto Exposure bias: 0.0000 Metering mode: Spot Exposure program: Aperture priority Gain control: None Contrast: Normal Saturation: High Sharpness: Hard Camera make: NIKON Camera model: E5700 Larger photo info:   640 x 772 true color 121KB

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