Not yet in full adult plumage

I'm glad that I saw yesterday's sunrise, as clouds blocked sight of it this morning. Some inertia kept me inside as the tide came in during the morning, and it was not until the afternoon that I donned the old road shoes which are now my water shoes and headed down the steps to the Southend of Snells Beach.

I ended up being spoiled for choice for today's blip. There were many more birds than the last few times I've been there. There hasn't been a storm for a while, and the weather going forward is predicted to be settled. I'm sure the birds know. There were kotare (kingfisher), poaka (pied stilt), torea (variable oystercatcher black and pied morphs), kawau paka (little pied shag), taranui (caspian tern), parera (NZ grey duck) and mallard ducks, and gulls. 

It came down to choosing between a photo of a kawau paka with wings out to dry in the wind (a classic pose), and this action shot of a juvenile white faced heron. The blue feathers have yet to darken, and its face is not fully white. It also seemed content to hang about on the rocks, presumable waiting for its parent(s) to bring food.

The most recent storms appear to have brought a bit of erosion to the cliff face. Not of any consequence for our place, as the cliff there slipped down thousands of years ago, and is now very stable (or so they tell us!).