I received a text message one Sunday that there were dozens of Phalaropes off the beach at West Head. (Thanks Bill) I had planned, like most Sundays to spend a few hours photographing birds and this sounded like a great opportunity. I ended up spending a couple hours taking shots and would gladly had stayed longer except I managed to get myself totally wet and it wasn't the most pleasant weather - cold and windy. There had been a storm in the preceding days that had managed to blow hundreds of these birds onshore. I only witnessed a small portion of the total - Bill estimated about 1000 just off of West Head. Normally these birds would be well out to sea and on their way to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.
Most of the sightings I've had in the past have been of juveniles and birds in Winter plumage so it was a treat to see many in mostly full breeding plumage. Given that they generally don't have much contact with humans they don't seem to have much fear and are quite approachable which is always a bonus with photography. May 10.
2 comments:
Beautiful pictures!
Thank you. They are beautiful birds.
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