Wetlands and elusive lightning

We had a few storms blow through today.  By 4 pm it looked relatively clear  so I arranged to meet Beckett overseas (Stockton) and show him the Hunter Wetlands.  There were masses of shore birds, Avocets, sandpipers, godwits, greenshanks, caspian terns, pelicans, plovers (maybe) stilts, common terns and some gulls.  It was quite late so high ISO and not the best shots but I have put some up here including a shot of the elusive Beckett.  

While we were there we could see lightning and so we decided to see if we could get a lightning shot.  There was the most amazing cloud bank over the city here but the lightning had fizzled out so we moved again to where this shot was taken.  The lightning was not co-operating.  Every time there was a strike our cameras were pointed in the other direction or the shutter had just fallen.  So here is Beckett and the elusive lightning.