The ’Ulili

A soft warm breeze swept along the sandy beach, and off in the distance the gentle rustling sounds of neighboring palm trees. As I walked towards the water, the noise of the pounding surf eventually overpowered all other sounds. I planted the tripod legs firmly into the sand and began to shoot. Roll after roll, I struggled with the task of manually focusing on unpredictable fast moving subjects. Were these flying birds? No, they were flying people!

It was the Hawaiian Island of Maui, and the world famous windsurfing area known as Hookipa Park. On this particular day, about a dozen professional windsurfers, on their brightly colored boards, "danced" along the tops of the waves about 100 yards offshore. I was concentrating on one particular surfer who was practicing aerial flips off the tops of the waves. Try anticipating that action with a manual focus lens! However, a manual focus telephoto lens was all I owned at that time, so you do the best you can with the equipment you have to work with. I eventually did get some nice images to add to my outdoor stock photo inventory.

The reason for bringing up the windsurfing story is to make a point. Many times photo opportunities occur as the result of being somewhere, for something completely different; and that is the premise for this story.

I always spend extra time at any shooting location looking for other subjects to photograph. Photographers constantly need to keep all the senses on high-alert for potential photo opportunities. Therefore, once I had finished photographing the windsurfing, I started to meander along the beach.

It wasn’t long before I heard what sounded like a bird. I listened carefully to the clear and repetitive call, too-li-li-li-li, but had difficulty identifying its direction because of the wind and pounding surf. Finally, along the edge of the crashing waves, a naturally camouflaged bird caught my attention as it walked along a sea grass covered outcrop of rocky ledge; the bird was a wandering tattler, or what the Hawaiians call the ’ulili, so named for its distinctive call.

The feather colors of the wandering tattler vary slightly depending upon the time of year. In September, when this image was made, the tattler was transitioning into winter plumage, with the predominant winter plumage color of various shades of gray. The feathers along the bird’s back are dark gray and the side feathers blend into a light gray. The lower portion of the tattler’s breast is white at this time of year, and becomes barred with dark gray streaks during the breeding season.

The bird’s bill is dark and reasonably long and slender. This facilitates the bird’s ability to feed among the rock crevices, as well as on sandbars and mud flats. Two of the more distinguishing features of the wandering tattler are the dull yellow-colored legs and white eye-ring. In some birds, the white eye-ring appears as more of a white eyebrow which extends forward towards the bill.

The wandering tattler breeds in Alaska, and arrives there in late April or May. By August, the birds are back in their wintering grounds in the Hawaiian Islands. Generally, the tattler is a solitary bird; however, they occasionally are seen in pairs or small flocks. Like most shorebirds, they prefer a habitat with water. This can be in the form of inland streams or ponds, as well as sand beaches, mudflats, and rocky coastlines. All of these habitats provide the small mollusks, crabs, and insects that make up most of its diet.

Most shorebirds don’t come in close contact with people, and are therefore very difficult to get close to without frightening them away. A very slow approach is necessary for this type of subject.

I generally use a technique that I call the "knee walk." With any subject that is small and on the ground, I adjust the tripod legs to their lowest position, so that I’m close to the ground as well. Kneeling behind the tripod, I take a few shots, pause for a while and watch the reaction of my subject, and then "knee walk" forward. "Knee walking" is achieved by lifting your tripod and advancing it forward as far as your arms can reach, and then "knee walking" up to it. Take a few more shots, check how your subject is reacting to your closer position and repeat the process. Taking a few good shots is important, because each shot could be your last.

However, what’s most important is checking the subject’s reaction. If you’re approaching the perimeter of your subject’s comfort-zone, a noticeable change in behavior will let you know you’re as close as possible without stressing the subject and having it fly away. Now, with an established comfort-zone you can photograph natural behavior without interrupting the subject.

What started out as adding windsurfing images to my outdoor photo file, with a little extra exploring of the area, ended up with the bonus of adding a new species to my wildlife files!

Good shooting!