A week of low tide visits and golden sunsets
This week I have had a few visits to Goldcliff Lagoons. All of have been at low tide. Such are my commitments of late , my free time has never coincided with a high tide. That is how things go when you have a busy life so you have to make the most of any opportunities to watch wildlife. It also means you need to adapt your photography to suit.
At low tide it has generally been quiet on the lagoons. Naturally the birds will follow the ebb and flow of the tides. Certainly at this time of year the numbers of birds are greatest at high tide. Despite being at the reserve at low tide there continues to be birds to spot but it tends to be that much harder.
I spent quite a bit of time on the sea wall watching the estuaries mud flats. There has been the usual large numbers of Shelducks albeit in the distance, Oystercatchers and Curlew but overall this week the mud has also been quiet.
I've been fortunate with the weather in the evenings and took advantage of the lovely sunsets that mother nature has had on offer.
It's also been good to meet up with some of my fellow birder friends and enjoy a good chin wag.
All week I have been a little frustrated as I have been hearing the reports of the Hobbies and also seeing some of the super pictures visitors to the reserve have taken. I am yet to get a close up picture but have been thrilled to watch the Hobbies , sometimes two of them in the same frame ,shooting across the sky hunting dragonflies and small birds.
They really are a marvel to watch. I had an interesting conversation with one of my birder friends who's been visiting and taking pictures ( and especially videos) of the wildlife longer than I have and he cant recall seeing so much Hobby activity before. He suggested it may be because so much of the lagoons have dried up and the mud is attracting lots of insects - especially dragonflies. I think he may be right.
My highlights this week have to be the magnificent sunsets, a picture I took of Shelducks flying against a orange back-lit sky , a sighting of a Little Stint and watching a Hobbies hunting dragonflies. My last picture published in this post is a stylised black and white composite picture of a Hobby stooping.
At low tide it has generally been quiet on the lagoons. Naturally the birds will follow the ebb and flow of the tides. Certainly at this time of year the numbers of birds are greatest at high tide. Despite being at the reserve at low tide there continues to be birds to spot but it tends to be that much harder.
I spent quite a bit of time on the sea wall watching the estuaries mud flats. There has been the usual large numbers of Shelducks albeit in the distance, Oystercatchers and Curlew but overall this week the mud has also been quiet.
I've been fortunate with the weather in the evenings and took advantage of the lovely sunsets that mother nature has had on offer.
It's also been good to meet up with some of my fellow birder friends and enjoy a good chin wag.
All week I have been a little frustrated as I have been hearing the reports of the Hobbies and also seeing some of the super pictures visitors to the reserve have taken. I am yet to get a close up picture but have been thrilled to watch the Hobbies , sometimes two of them in the same frame ,shooting across the sky hunting dragonflies and small birds.
They really are a marvel to watch. I had an interesting conversation with one of my birder friends who's been visiting and taking pictures ( and especially videos) of the wildlife longer than I have and he cant recall seeing so much Hobby activity before. He suggested it may be because so much of the lagoons have dried up and the mud is attracting lots of insects - especially dragonflies. I think he may be right.
My highlights this week have to be the magnificent sunsets, a picture I took of Shelducks flying against a orange back-lit sky , a sighting of a Little Stint and watching a Hobbies hunting dragonflies. My last picture published in this post is a stylised black and white composite picture of a Hobby stooping.
 |
| Shelducks flying in to roost back lit against a sky turned orange by the setting sun. |
 |
| Composite picture of a sunset at Goldcliff taken this week. |
 |
| Female Marsh Harrier at sunset |
 |
| A study of a Hobby stooping |
