While the balance skills of birds are beyond any yogi, the more likely reason for this one-legged tree pose is heat conservation. The downy flanks of this ruddy turnstone are great for a warmup, one leg at a time.
I photographed this bird last May in Cape May. Just down the beach was a massive mixed flock of shorebirds. It was the last day of our trip, and it was here that we finally spotted a handful of red knots. Can you pick them out below?
The laughing gulls are great mixed in here for scale. If you look closely, you can see just three or four turnstones in this diverse mix of shorebirds.
