Shorebirds at Low Tide

  I had another post ready to go - but at this time of the year I don't get too excited about bush birds! There are thousands of shorebirds around the bay just waiting for me to find them and photograph them! So! - this morning I went out to Inskip Point to see what was around at low tide  - which was a bit before 8am. Even if there were no birds close enough to photograph I could have a look at what the tides were doing to the sand around the point and see if there was any recent build up to make up for all the sand that was washed away in late winter. It looked as if the steep edges were being rounded and filled in but no other return of sand that I could see.(Nothing exciting enough to photograph!)
The weather forecast said mainly sunny - but the clouds were coming over and the sunshine was only intermittent. Looking east along the channel to the open sea.

Looking west out to the sand island - there were numbers of pelicans out there and lots of terns.

I have recently seen lots of jelly fish in the bay and there were a few washed up on the Point.

There was a single Pelican roosting out at the end of the Point but it decided to swim off rather than let me get close.

The wind was quite strong and all the shorebirds that I could see were moving around quite fast as they fed in the soft sand. This Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit were busily feeding just below where the bush track comes out onto the Point.

Further out along the sand this group of shorebirds were feeding quite close together - 2 Godwits, a Crested Tern resting, a Red-capped Plover and ?? I needed to get closer photos to ID the other small bird.

With very slow movements I managed to get close enough. Red-caped Plovers are always so inquisitive that they seem to convince other shorebirds that it is safe to stay where they are. The other small bird was a Sanderling which seemed just as interested in me as I was in it.

Further out on the sand flats I could see another group of smaller shorebirds. I took a while to get close to them as they were feeding and moving all the time. The first photo is of a Red-necked Stint on the left of the photo and a Curlew Sandpiper on the right. Then I managed a closer photo of the Curlew Sandpiper by itself.

To finish off the morning I got a photo of a Grey-tailed Tattler feeding at the edge of the water.

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.