We get a lot of Stock doves on the state where I photograph, but they are not very noticeable and do not present themselves for photography very often. During the current heat wave the wader scrapes have started to dry out. At first this left one small dry edge where the doves came down to drink. After 5 days the water retreated until there was so much dry land they could drink anywhere, but for those first few days it was the ideal opportunity to photograph drinking Stock doves. I moved my low, lie down only, wader hide close enough. The advantage of a low hide is it does not intimidate the birds as much as a normal height hide and of course you get the lovely low angle shots.
I did it for 4 mornings on the run for about 4 hours a day, but would only get 3-4 visits each day in the right spot. I concentrated on trying to get them as they took off into the air. It was certainly and very attractive spot, but by 10:00 hours the light would get too harsh to continue.
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