A Windswept Morning

This morning I kayaked over to the Airport Roost.  The wind was quite strong - almost more than I am comfortable with!  Once the kayak is in the water I am OK but I am always worried that a stronger gust of wind will upset my balance as I am lifting the kayak up onto the roof racks.  Shorebirds don't like strong winds especially when they are on an open stretch of shoreline facing the bay so it was no surprise to see very few shorebirds out there.  I did not even try to kayak on the bay in front of the roost but instead kayaked through the mangroves in the little lagoon behind the sandspit then pulled the kayak out onto the sand and walked across to where the shorebirds usually roost.  I counted 15 Grey-tailed Tattlers as they flew out of one of the mangroves then wheeled around to find a quieter roost further up the creek. At first I did not see any other shorebirds.  The sand was windswept and foam had washed up along the edge of the water.

 Then I saw Pacific Golden Plovers sheltering down among some taller grass.

There were no more birds to look at but the different mangrove trees are also interesting.  This one appeared partly dead with colorful lichen growing on the branches.

This is the Myrtle Mangrove (Osbornia octodonta).  The crushed leaves smell similar to eucalyptus leaves.  This one had tiny flower buds but I did not see any flowers open yet.

 
The wind was still blowing and pushing little waves up along the sand. 

The clouds moving across the sky looked as if the winds lower down would soon be freshening again. 

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and for more bird photos visit Wild Bird Wednesday.