Coxs Creek at low tide

Returning to Auckland from the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, has meant leaving very cold mornings. It has also meant leaving bright and sunny, warm to hot, spring days. This is not untypical spring weather for Auckland. Not really cold in the mornings; not much warmer as the day goes on. Overcast and often rainy. And the winds. In two weeks we can talk equinoctial gales.

All that is a preamble for this picture taken on my run this morning in grey overcast. Although the sun had risen by the time I got to Coxs Bay, its light was diffused and dulled by passage through the clouds. The only real colour was from the yachts lying on the mudflats. The solitary black swan appeared to be searching for some underwater vegetation, whether or not successfully I cannot say. Other than gulls, it was the only bird in the bay.