Winging on the wind

Today was a demonstration in Stewart Island's occasionally brutal southern ocean temperament: driving rain, violent winds, and bone-chilling temps. Admittedly I spent the better part of the morning curled up in my sleeping bag, avoiding it. In the afternoon I dashed outside during a break in the weather to see if any birds hadn't been blown away in the wind. A few gulls and grey ducks were loafing in the waves, and I could hear some Kaka calling somewhere in the distance. I had just a few minutes walking along the bayfront in the golden sunshine before another burst of wind and rain appeared without warning and assaulted my senses. I snapped off a few distant shots of a Buller's Mollymawk taking advantage of the high winds and then swiftly returned to the shelter of the hostel, where I have since been entrenched.

Not a terribly eventful day, but hey, I still managed to see an albatross.