The Delaware coast was a treasure trove of birds! My very first morning on site, a white van pulled up with a Fish & Wildlife emblem on the door. The person walked over and asked if we minded moving from where we were shooting as they wanted to trap shorebirds in that location for their research. We moved instantly as their research was much more important than our images. Well, that started a relationship that continues to this day!
Being a Master Bander and a biology geek, I couldn’t help myself and asked questions. It was a great conversation, fostering a new relationship. They were attaching “Flags” as well as service bands on the birds, you can see one of the green flags on this inbound Ruddy Turnstone. At the end of that session shooting, they were very kind and brought over to the group a Least Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher they had trapped and did an in-the-field class on bird ID and banding. It was great!!!
One of the biologists was from Argentina, and we hit it off instantly. The next day, I gave him a list of the birds I’d photographed (the Flag numbers) with his Flags. That’s when the reality struck, they were targeting species that just a few years back were a dime a dozen. They weren’t going after the endangered Red Knot, they were targeting species that not too long ago no one paid attention to there were so many of them. That reality is still upsetting to me. What have we done to our world? It’s important science, and I was so pleased that for a week, I could play an insignificant part by recording The Flag.
