Too close for comfort

Yesterday was as if summer was still here. Sunny and warm. Today, was a return to summer 2012; grey, overcast, almost raining and cold. My morning run produced a shot I quite liked. (Posted in my Blipfolio)

However, late morning I took the two lads to the beach for a play and a walk before lunch and their return to Auckland with their mother. They played in the sand and walked in the water, and we wandered along the beach to the rocks at the end of the point separating our beach from Snells Beach.

On these rocks were lots of pied oystercatchers (torea), with a smattering of variable oystercatchers (toreapango) amongst them. Although also known as the South Island Pied Oystercatcher, they do often congregate on exactly these sorts of beaches, usually with the toreapango.

I had my Pentax and the long lens and was trying for a picture to show some of their behaviour. One or two of a anding bird were not bad. Then Mr H decided to walk towards the group. They hopped away and then one took flight, followed by the remainder within seconds. This is the final squadron scrambling, and the delight of Mr H can be inferred from the blur in the right foreground.