Amazing!

YES, DANIEL !

Somebody may assist with Sex and Age ?
______________
PS:
Any estimate of number of breeding pairs in
Switzerland ?

Great Compliments, JAKOB ............ C.

Den forreste er en ungfugl(med enkelte nye første voksendragtsfjer på skuldrene)

Den bagerste er en gammel fugl (sandsynligvis han, idet hunnerne som regel er trukket bort fra ynglepladserne tidligt på sæsonen).
Nye vinterdragtsfjer har delvist erstattet den slidte yngledragt, af hvilken rester af det mørke bugskjold endnu ses)

English:

Front bird is a juvenile moulting into first winter.

Hind bird is an adult (male) moulting from breeding to winter plumage as would be expected in late August.

Is this photo really taken with a Pentax Optio V20 ???

br nh

Yes, the photo was taken with a Pentax Optio V20. - The birds were extremely close, I estimate about 40 centimeter. If you want to get a proof, write me ;-) Best regards and thanks for the compliments!!

Fantastic photo Jakob

It is obvious that you are very close - so much depth of field is not achieved by using tele, and that´s what makes this photo so unique !

Br
9s

Dear JAKOB,

Many thanks for responding to us.

Reportedly, the Dotterel may be extremely unshy at the nest. I remember a photo by Bengt BERG in his book about 'his friend', the Dotterel, in northern Sweden,
with a male Dotterel brooding in a nest, handheld
- over the ground at the nest site.

So, Your technical details - 40 cm - means that You
- in August - slowly approached the adolescent and adult,
and finally got the 'big' shot?

Kindly reveal more 'celeb' details about Your unique
approach.

Best rgds. .............. C.

Hi Carsten,

The Cassonsgrat, a mountain in Switzerland, is a popular spot for observing Dotterels making stop on their migration. So I went there in the end of August 2010. After I'd searched the birds several hours, suddenly I recognised that I'd almost have stood on one bird - the were so extremely unshy and well camouflaged! So I took my Pentax an lied on the ground, the birds did not escape, they rather got closer by themselves (when I stayed lying calmly)... ;-) It was a amazing observation!!

Best regards! Jakob