Psilos
Bird Journal |
Saturday December
9th 2006 |
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"Turnstones
and tides" |
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After a week of terrible weather
I finally got to go out in my pursuit of waders once again. This time
I decided to go north and made my way to Morecombe bay two hours ahead
of the high tide. The weather today is mainly dry with large expanses
of blue sky. I couldnt help but wonder how long it would last. Today
the tide seemed to be slow coming in and there seemed to be few birds
around. A quick scan of the bay turned up redshank, Turnstone, Knot,
Oystercatcher and a large number of Curlew. Sadly though they were all
a good distance out and were certainly not in photographic range. |
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Taking my eye off the game
I failed to notice what was right under my nose. How you can fail to
notice a large bird like a curlew I dont know but I did for suddenly
there he was right in front of my car.Crouched low like a member of
the SAS I made my way round the back of the car and tried to get a little
closer. The lighting was beautiful and a full wing stretch showed some
gorgeous wing detail. It has to be said though that even the greatest
SAS troopers could not get any closer to this bird. He had clocked me
sure enough and flew off to the safety of the mud flats on the bay. |
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As always there were alot of
gulls on the bay. In the past I have seen Mediteranean gull here and
with large numbers of Leaches storm petrels being recorded this week
I thuoght I might get lucky and see something unusual. The usual Black
headed gulls were everywhere with a small number of Lesser and Greater
black backed gulls. I would have liked a good shot of the latter but
they are very wary and not easy to get close to. A favourite gull of
mine, the Common gull, however was accomodating and kept flying into
range so I couldnt resist. |
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The tide at Morecombe
comes across the bay from the left and is deadly. Many people have drowned
here as the tide comes around the back and cuts off any safe return.
Waders get pushed further up the beach and collect around the base of
great boulders placed there as sea defences. The photo above shows Knot
and Dunlin on the sand and Redshank on the boulders. |
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Eventually the
sea covers the last remaining areas of sand and the waders take to the
air. Knot and Dunlin can be seen flying in the photo above. |
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Just as the tide is taking
the last of the beach space is the best time to see the waders on the
wing. During this time they are jittery and flighty and can be seen
flying around in large flocks before they eventually settle on higher
ground. This is what I love to photograph most as the
air is just electric with nervous tension and trying to capture that
feeling is a real challenge. |
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Eventually all
the waders come down and settle on the boulders. Numbers seemed very
low today and I was quite disappointed. In the past I have seen thousands
of birds all huddled together but today they are only in their hundreds. |
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Getting close to
them was going to be a problem but then my luck turned.......... |
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