Emerging from the clouds

Last night we went out for dinner, and proceeded to get rather wet going from restaurant to car afterwards. New Plymouth was hit by a thunderstorm of some ferocity. Overnight, the storm clouds and the rain went, and I woke to a clear sky. 

Having the time to do so (not going to the hospital), I ran along the Coastal Walkway to the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, hoping for this sort of photo. Some clouds persist around Taranaki (a common occurrence). Nevertheless, the rising sun is casting an orange light on both mountain and clouds. 

Framed by the bridge, Taranaki appears quite magical.

I actually arrived at the bridge ahead of the sunrise, so ran on a bit further. I hadn't gone far when a small bird flashed across in front of me. I saw yellow and so tracked it. It landed on a fence wire 40 - 50 m away. I quickly took two photos of it at maximum lens length of 200 mm. 

Looking at the photos after I got back, at maximum enlargement without impairment of quality, I identified it as a yellowhammer; bird species Nø 49 for 2015. It is a small bird, being just 16 cm (6 inches) long. I'm very pleased that I've managed to get a quality photo of it.

I heard pheasants, but they stayed in the undergrowth beside the path. I saw rabbits (2), a family of Californian quail, and many many gulls. I enjoyed a long (for me) run, on a beautifully clear and crisp autumn morning.

Later, I have had to be reading the agenda papers for Tuesday and Wednesday. Getting through it.