Flypast

This afternoon we return to the wide open sands behind Rhyl Harbour, wild and dune-fringed rather than the seaside beaches backed by amusement arcades. I’ve miscalculated the tides, but I’m delighted to find the water’s still far out, revealing flowing channels and raised sandbanks. The wind and light and openness are just what I need right now - and thankfully my mood is lifted. 

Across the river there are kite surfers, rainbow canopies blown high, and instinctively I head in their direction. But then I spot the birds. Flocks of oyster catchers stand along the water’s edge, their ranks infiltrated by gulls, and further out three cormorants stand, wings outstretched, drying in the winter sunshine. Suddenly, as if they’re camera shy, the smaller birds take flight, wheeling in the wind, their white wing undersides gleaming in the light. And then the cormorants follow - first one, and then another, until finally the one left standing - looking slightly dazed - decides to follow. I catch them circling then landing, then flying off again.

We walk back to the dunes and along the coastal path, watching the oyster catchers flying through the waves, resting, than taking off again. When we return, the sandbanks and the channels have all but disappeared beneath the encroaching tide. The sun has also gone, covered by incoming cloud, and not a single kite surfer remains. It’s time to leave. 

I think I’m really poor at choosing mains, and today I’m torn between inflight shots of oyster catchers and cormorants. The former wins - definitely best viewed large, the cormorants in extras…..