Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper in Columbia, MD on May 4, 2021. Heron season has just begun in Maryland and I have been enjoying photographing one of my favorite herons, the Green Heron. I was at a local lake photographing a Green from near water-level. A sandpiper went flying by and wandered around upstream. My focus was on the Green hunting for fish. A short time later, I heard the sandpiper call and it came flying back around, landing on a rock not far from my position. I did not have much room to maneuver, being that I was laying on a narrow piece of ground by the water. It bobbed around for a short period, jumping between the rocks. It posed nicely before flying off a second time and not being seen again.

I missed the shots of the Spotted Sandpiper eating an insect. My autofocus (AF) was set to "Group" photographing the Green Heron. Group AF on Nikon cameras focuses on the closest object to you, which is very useful with birds out in the open. I normally use single-point/25-point AF for small birds but was too focused on the surprise visit nearby to change settings.

Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500