It's the lighting, stupid!

In photography, 9 times out of 10 a great wildlife photo is great because of the lighting.  The 1 time out of 10 it's because of the behavior.  I have no idea if that is true, but it sounds good and applies here.  I got out this evening and actually stayed shooting until close to sunset which I have not done in a long time.  It's quite difficult on Long Island as the sun is generally blocked by development when it gets real low, or it's difficult to get between your subject and the sun - but the Ocean solves most of these problems and a plover obliged.

Now below are three plover photos from Sagg Main Beach over Memorial Day Weekend - it was about 3 hours after sunrise and you can see the difference.  The photos are still wonderful, but there is a big difference between the two sets.