Dirk Hoogenstein's Image

Dirk was fascinated by the camouflage of the ruddy turnstones he and his parents spotted on the shore. Desperate to get closer, he scrambled quite a distance across rocks exposed by the tide. Advancing cautiously, Dirk followed the fast-moving turnstones until he was close enough to get the shot.

All across the shoreline, ruddy turnstones turn over stones to feed on the small crustaceans and insects concealed below – a behaviour that gave them their name. This speckled brown individual is harvesting food from a bed of mussels. In summer, when it migrates back to the Arctic tundra, its tortoiseshell plumage will transform with rich orange shades.