Pied Stilt Defense Force On The Alert

Thanks to Mrs Happy alerting me, I spent a very entertaining couple of hours at the estuary this morning. The pied stilts are nesting and they are very loud and proactive whenever they feel their territory is being threatened. It was a bit disconcerting being dive bombed constantly but they always veered away at the last minute. I tried for a shot of one coming straight for me, but because they are so fast, the camera couldn't refocus quickly enough.

As well, but unfortunately at some distance, I saw a shag trying to deal with a huge eel. I found pied stilt chicks and laughed to see them all run under Mum when the alarm call went out. You could only tell they were there by counting the legs.

The tide was on the way in and the estuary teemed with herons, shags, ducks, swans, stilts and a myriad of tiny birds I cant yet identify.

Thanks to all those helpful folk who chose to comment and answer my query yesterday. You have given me much to think about with probably the most important being the impact of colour in photography.