The piping plover is a small shorebird, reaching approximately seven inches in length. The piping plover is listed as endangered in some interior areas of Canada and United States and threatened along the East Coast of both countries. The birds' habit of nesting on the open beach leaves their eggs vulnerable to construction and human activity.

Piping Plover by Paul Sager, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47719386441_0d8865af04_h.jpg

The images shared in this post come from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois in April 2019. The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM was extended by the Canon Extender 2x III creating a 600mm, IS-enabled, f/5.6 configuration. All images were captured in RAW using a Canon EOS 5DIII mounted to a tripod. The image files were processed using Adobe Lightroom and Topaz DeNoise v6.

The Inca tern has a dark gray body and a red beak and legs. Moustache-like tufts of white feathers on each side of the beak signal maturity in males and females.

Inca Tern
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The Canon Extender 2x III is a high performance teleconverter for use with Canon EF telephoto lenses. The 2x Extender multiplies the focal length by 2x and closes the effective aperture by two stops. Canon calls the equipment "extenders" where the same tools are called "teleconverters" by Nikon and other manufacturers.

The Bactrian camel has a thick brown coat that changes with the seasons. During winter, the coat thickens to provide added insulation against the cold. As tempertures increase in spring, large chunks of fur are shed to keep the animal cool. Both male and female Bactrian camels have two large humps on their backs.

Bactrian camel
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The jambu fruit dove has green markings on the back, wings and tail, with a bright orange beak. The species is sexually dimorphic (males and females differ in appearance). Males have a crimson face and white chest displaying a pink patch near the throat while females possess a light purple face and green chest.

Jambu Fruit Dove
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Was out doing some birding today and had a good day with 24 different species and some fantastic shots. The highlight of the day happened when I came upon a Broad-winged Hawk that was perched in a tree at the side of the road about 8 feet in the air. Usually when you pull the truck up to a bird it takes wing and so much for a photo but this guy let me sit about 30 feet away on the opposite side of the road for 15 minutes till he jumped down and grabbed a snake for lunch then flew off. I got some fabulous shots and a couple minutes of video.