When I visit the San Diego Birding Festival, I always drive out to the end of the road on the breakwater that forms the south side of Mission Bay and Mission Bay Park, and the north side of the San Diego River Flood Control Channel. Out past the Mission Bay Hospitality Center, where the fishermen park, there is a healthy patch of tended lawn with a few picnic tables where Marbled Godwits probe for ants. It has to be the best aerated lawn in San Diego.   And the Godwits that work it have to be the easiest to photograph of any Godwit ever. Basically you just sit on one of the picnic table benches and wait for the Godwits to come close enough to fill the frame. Of course the 1200mm equivalent zoom on the Canon SX50HS helps with that.

The only trick is to make sure you have a high enough shutter speed to catch the head in motion as they feed rapidly, or to time your shots for the seconds when the head is still. I will add a video clip to show you what I mean.

By the way, I would never have guessed they were hunting ants if I had not seen the ant in Godwit’s bill…in the lead photo and in several others not posted here.

Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Fill. –1/3EV exposure compensations. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 250. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.