Tuesday, November 26, 2013

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. 




28 comments:

  1. such cute shorebirds. some were definitely playing up for the camera. :) love the red-capped plovers. so cute.

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  2. Nice birds. I've never seen a brightly colored jellyfish and that one is a lovely shade of blue!

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  3. Beautiful birds and I agree with TexWis, some are definitely playing up for the camera!! What fun captures for the day, Mick! Hope you have a great week!! Thanks for sharing the beauty of your world!!

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  4. That sure is a pretty blue jelly! Wonderful shore birds and you are so lucky to live close enough to plan your day according to the tides. We spent a few summers on the Oregon Coast and could do that -- it is a good way to live!!

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  5. Another lovely set of shots.

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  6. That large jelly fish looked a bit scary. Thank you for your comments of my blog about Hardy's tree. (All removal of remains would be documented in the parish records.)

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  7. Great to see some birds at Inskip.

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  8. "Snap" with the Sanderling. You're right, the Sanderling is a great migrant and i love seeing them anywhere I go in the world, hot or cold. I love the shot of Curlew Sandpiper, another long distance migrant we get here but not in the same numbers as Sanderlings, or Bar-tails.

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  9. Great series!! Boom & gary of the Vermilon River.

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  10. Wonderful shots of birds. I like that pelican.

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  11. I love birds of the seashore! Beautiful captures!

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  12. Beautiful photos; it is very intersting to shorebirds and I agree with Sallie you live in a great area.

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  13. A wonderful post... Beautiful images of all your shore birds

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  14. Lovely photos! The shore birds are very beautiful.

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  15. Now I wish it were Spring here, lucky you to be seeing shorebirds now! They are all beautiful birds and great captures, Mick!

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  16. Great set of pics Mick, some really smart birds there, and the colour of that Jellyfish is amazing.
    All the best Gordon.

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  17. Hi Mick, you have such great access to the wonderful variety of shore-birds and able to get great shots of them

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  18. That sounds like such an enjoyable morning! Your patience certainly paid off with those wonderful close-ups.

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  19. Like a breath of fresh air .... always special treasures to be found at the beach

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  20. I'd be excited to see shore birds! Love that Pelican!

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  21. Wonderful series... Love the close-ups. :)

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  22. I like the way they are strutting their stuff and the colour of the jellyfish is just amazing.

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  23. o, the blue thingy was a jellyfish. Got a surprise. :) Love all the vaders as usual. :)

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  24. I really like the waders on the beach. Really nice photos.

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  25. Great set of pictures - nice when the birds let you get within range!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne.

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  26. That's one of the things I love about the beach. Out of many. You never know what you are going to find. Like that blue Jelly. Cool.

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  27. Hate to be stung by a jellyfish - but this is a beautiful capture! We see pelicans often here at the S. Californian coast.

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