Solitary Sandpiper

Nice shot! :t:

How did you manage to get so close?

excellent James !

Thank you for the friendly comments, everyone!

Macshark, compared to most birds, this guy seemed easier to get close to. I was on the muddy edge of a pond. I'd take 5-10 steps at a time (fewer as I got closer), sort of hunched down a bit until I was near the bird's space (20 feet or so). He was going back and forth looking for insects. I mostly tried to stay in one spot. Now and then he would come straight towards me and then even run past me rather than away from me. Sometimes he was less than 10 feet away. But he was constantly moving and very hard to keep in frame when so close. I tried to shoot during his very brief pauses.
Anyway, a lot of fun! It helped that this was a pond and I was basically in the mud, feathers, flies and goose poop. So there was no one around. On a beach, I'd probably have to deal with folks jogging, walking their dogs, etc, and it wouldn't have been as easy.