summer afternoon – godwits in flight

Yesterday afternoon, I drove down to the point on my way home. It was the first time in weeks I’ve had the camera to hand on the shoreline.

I’ve combined a couple of effects to get a larger sense of a warm summer afternoon as a rough tide washed in.

mid-morning shore birds

A little Monterey effect via FX Photo Studio Pro to lift these snaps on what is a very bright and warm Spring Eve day. 

backwash

For a while it was relatively calm on the shore line. The tide was coming in gently and every so often the birds jostled for new positions as they moved up a little more to take account of the changing water depths.

Then this backwash from a passing boat arrived. This is the moment when the godwits were figuring out that some kind of reaction was called for. You can almost see their minds ticking over.

more from the shore – bird photographs

I arrived at the Point an hour later than yesterday’s trek which meant that the incoming tide was closer to the shore. Today’s shots have very little or no effects work done on them with the exception of the stilts in flight photo which has a touch of Vintage using FX Photo Studio Pro.

You might notice a ring in towards the end. I was lying in a prone position so as not to disturb the shore birds. Suddenly he was half a metre away from my face. He was totally unfazed and not about to let a strange human on the grass disturb his food hunt.

 

godwits galore

Sometimes the walks take place without a camera which can lead to disappointment when there are gatherings like this taking place on the shore. Something told me this morning to grab the long lens as I headed out the door after breakfast. The tide and the light were just right. There were godwits galore among the regular stilt population and the odd visiting tern and oyster catcher. The camera and these birds are a big part of my balancing act right now.

shivering for the sunrise and shore birds

This morning’s winter sky was spectacular and motivation for an early and cold trek down to the bay to capture the best of it.

I noticed the tide was rising, so was curious to see if any shore birds were feeding at the point.

Yes! Spoonbills!  Royal Spoonbills to be precise. There were six of them.

They were not alone.  The usual suspects were there – bar tailed godwits, black winged stilts, masked lapwings and seagulls joined by a Caspian tern and four sooty terns. A lone sea eagle also put in an appearance overhead to top it off.