Wednesday, October 06, 2010

High Tide II

It was quite sunny this evening, so, again, I headed down to Blackpill to see what was around at high tide. Amongst the many gulls, was this Black-headed Gull:


There was a large roosting flock of Oystercatchers, until something or someone disturbed them, and they took to the skies (the city of Swansea can be seen in the background):


There was the usual abundance of Ringed Plovers, including this juvenile:


And this adult:


Dunlins were probably the most numerous of the birds there this evening, and looked great as the evening sunshine illuminated their plumage:



There were also a small number of Sanderlings present:


As well as some Turnstones:


As the sun dipped over the horizon, I went over to where the main flock of birds were roosting:


Just as I had packed my gear away, I peered over the sand dunes and saw two Grey Plovers on the beach, one of which was attempting to eat a small crab it had caught. I got my stuff out again, and was able to get a few shots before a stray dog scared both birds away. Just as well I had taken my tripod with me today, as the exposure for this shot was 1/15th sec. at f/4.5 and ISO 400 - using mirror lock-up and the 2-second delay self-timer. Thankfully, it stayed reasonably still, and I was able to get a fairly sharp shot:


7 comments:

  1. Great serie! I have nver seen so many Oystercatchers on one image!

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  2. VERY beatiful pictures!!!!=)
    Have a nice day.
    Lena

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  3. Once again: Lovely pictures! Thanks for sharing with us. Have a nice day!:)

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  4. A Wader festival, a wonderful set of images.

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  5. Beautiful photos, Jeremy. I have never seen a Grey Plover!

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  6. Thank you, Jeremy, for visiting my blog. I have thoroughly enjoyed a visit here. The light at Three Cliffs, the Sanderling, the Pill (didn't know we had these on Gower ... have only previously come across Frenchman's Pill in Cornwall) ... but the Turnstone receives my top vote!

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