Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Early Morning at Inskip Point

The weather bureau predicted a clear morning so I set off for Inskip Point before sunrise. Very early morning is beautiful beside the sea and I am always trying for photos which show that early morning light on the water - I haven't quite got what I want yet but I have fun trying.

The barge was waiting at the point by the time I got there and the birds were spread out along the sand on the southern side.

Although the huge flocks have left for the northern hemisphere there were still a lot of birds to see. 

When I got close enough to see individual birds I saw a few Eastern Curlews, also some Bar-tailed Godwits and large numbers of Grey-tailed Tattlers. Most of them were going into breeding plumage and looked all fat and ready for migration. (The larger birds in all the photos are Godwits.)

While scanning down the lines of birds I saw this one with its back to me. When it moved I saw it was a Curlew Sandpiper in partial breeding plumage.


Another bird that stood out as different among all the Tattlers was this Pacific Golden Plover. It kept behind the other birds so I couldn't get full photos showing all its breeding plumage. The black outlined with white is so dramatic and such a change from the non-breeding plumage of white down the front and grey-brown and golden on the back.

For more photos from around the world visit Our World Tuesday 

and for more bird photos visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

28 comments:

  1. What wonderful captures of such beautiful birds, Mick!! And what a lovely place! Thanks for sharing the beauty! Have a great week!

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  2. Great shots of the shorebirds. I especially love the cute Pacific Golden Plover! Thanks for sharing your World Birds! Have a great week!

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  3. beautiful shorebirds, once again! that plover definitely makes a statement!

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  4. Early morning by the sea must be magical. Terrific captures!

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  5. Splendid set of birds - its great to get a glimpse of the birds in their breeding finery.

    Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW.

    Stewart M - Melbourne

    PS: I think I am going to have to organise a holiday to your neck of the woods very soon!

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  6. Beautiful area!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  7. Mick, wonderful post!
    Great shots of all the shorebirds. The Golden Plover does stand out in a crowd!
    This time of year can be challenging with many birds transitioning to breeding plumage.

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  8. Great post, nice to see all those birds from your site of this world :
    Nice days to you!

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  9. the morning light really makes your shots stand out. Love them. From your birds today my favourite is the Golden Plover. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  10. Lovely post, the 4th image is genuinely a great shot, I like it very much

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  11. Great pictures...the golden plover stands out beautifully from the smaller guys!

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  12. There certainly are still a lot of birds around. Beautiful to see them all. Thanks.

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  13. such a beautiful array of shore-birds; seems like you have front row seats here Mick

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  14. Great shots of the birds in the flock.

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  15. Wonderful closeups Mick!
    The plover seemed to be trying to stretch above the rest to give you a better shot. :)
    Loved the waterscape shot as well as the birds!

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  16. Wonderful pictures! Thank you for your visiting.

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  17. You're right - those tattlers especially look noticeable and amazingly fat but then do have enormous distances to cover. Golden Plovers are such beautiful birds in summer plumage, standing out from the crowd of even others in summer plumage. Great stuff Mick.

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  18. The markings on these birds are fascinating! Such amazing insights into these birds! Magical photos!

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  19. Fantastic images!!! Love the one photo of the solitaire. All alone and so very beautiful.

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  20. I like how you showed us the landscape and then kept zooming in on the birds. Nice post.

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  21. Fabulous series of photos, what great captures :) It's such a beautiful place, and I love the birds!

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  22. Lovely images of these neat shorebirds!

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  23. Love the shore birds, the plover is just beautiful.

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  24. Hi Mick...Such a lovely array of shore birds, fat and ready to head out for another season !!
    Awesome photos
    Grace

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  25. Nice to see so many birds in your place of the world! I'm not so familair with sea birds because I don't live by the sea.
    Thanks for your comment! /Pia

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  26. Beautifully photographed shorebirds!

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