Handicapped does not mean ugly

This title of the article suggested my wife after I came back from Sunday birding trip to Herdla nature reserve (Askøy Island, Bergen, Norway) and watched the pictures on our PC. My primary target of the Sunday`s trip were the Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) that regularly visit Herdla in autumn months and sometimes stay over the winter, but at the end there were especially the pictures of Dunlin (Calidris alpina) that made my day on Sunday including picture of one poor Dunlin with missing left leg.

Unfortunately I have not had many opportunities for birding recently – either it was because of the lack of time or caused by the bad weather that rules the life here from September (although we are still in southern Norway). But on Sunday the weather was just perfect for visiting Herdla bird reserve – it did not rain which meant I could make some pictures but it was cloudy and that meant minimum of people – at sunny weekends in summer, Herdla becomes crowded by hundreds people who are heading here from the whole Bergen area.

It was at Herdla two years ago at about this time when I watched the light-coloured sparrow-like bird for the first time and then found out in the books that it was Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), a small bird from the finch group (Emebrizidae) living in far North and migrating more South for winter months. Last year I did not get chance to watch Snow Buntings – probably because I spent most of my little birding time by watching and photographing Crossbills - so I have got another chance this year again. I had bad luck though – twice I was crawling towards the flock of 5 Snow Buntings witn camera in my hands but when I was close enough for making picture the passers-by lifted up the birds. For the third time the birds have flown away too, for the fourth time I got quite close but the birds were in un-natural setting with concrete blocks and white plastic stripes. Neither the fifth time it was perfect – I was still far from them to be happy but at least the birds were in natural setting so I could make at least record shot:

So at the end I have made the best pictures of that day a bit farther, where I saw landing three Dunlins (Calidris alpina), who settled in the brown-redish seeweed washed ashore onto the sandy beach. I took off the bag and with the camera in my hands I was crawling towards that place – I knew the spot the Dunlins landed but could not really spot them until I was 10 meters from them – It is incredible how inconspicuous these small waders can be! Luckily for me Dunlins are quite tame birds so they let me get as close as ca. 5 meters and were not nervous at all – one of them was even sleeping with the head turned backward and beak dipped into the plumage. At the end I get to the title of this tale – the Dunlin who was closest to me was the handicapped one with left leg missing but honestly – isn`t it beautiful yet…?

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