A spoon-billed sandpiper swung its impressive bill from side to side, searching for midges, mosquitoes and spiders to eat. Lefei had to crawl slowly over the mudflats – his camera mounted on a converted surfboard – to get close enough and low enough for this shot. He photographed the bird perfectly poised, ‘ready to scoop with its spoon’.
Spoon-billed sandpipers are among the world’s most critically endangered birds: only 400 remain. Their numbers plummeted early this century, sparking international efforts to save them. The birds migrate between breeding grounds on the Russian tundra and wintering sites in southeast Asia. Coastal development along this route has removed vital feeding and roosting land.
China
Lefei is a birdwatcher and wildlife photography enthusiast. For five years he has been taking photos of birds and other wildlife in China, Borneo, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Japan. Although busy with schoolwork, he has published more than 80 articles and updates his social media account every week to record his adventures in wildlife photography.
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