Spotted shags (cormorants) heading out to sea.

A large flock of these birds was resting on the beach near where we went for a Nature Photography field trip. At some signal they took off heading out to sea either to feed or to head back to the cliffs where they roost.

Not sure what's happened to the roost, as a lot of the cliffs have fallen with the earthquakes and I'm too wary to go and look - got a bad feeling when I went back to the car park, and haven't been back. Too many aftershocks to feel safe near a cliff.

Not an ideal day for our trip - very cold and very dark, so didn't get any shots I'm keen on, but not disappointed as I didn't expect to! Will go back on a better day now I know where to go and have another try. My camera needs bright light and blue sky to take sharp images of birds. Nice to get out though and enjoy the morning with like minded people.