Western Sandpiper

This species winters in San Francisco Bay in huge numbers, but I only have a two-week window to capture it in breeding plumage before it departs for the Arctic to nest. The tides are only right for 3 of the 14 days in that window, and I'm likely to lo lose 1 or 2 of those 3 to cloudy conditions. All this is to say that I only have 1-2 well-lit opportunities each year to capture this species in its breeding best. Given those long odds, I was really happy with this result. I was hella muddy after this session, but the season, tide, and light aligned perfectly!

San Mateo County, California, 4/23/20
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS 1DX Mark II
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800