Pre-flight exercises

Late this afternoon I went down to the beach to see if I could get a good shot of a bird. Perhaps it was too soon after high tide, or maybe the cold, grey and windy weather discouraged the birds from coming to the shore.

This toreapango (Variable Oystercatcher, Haematopus unicolour) was resting on some flat rocks jutting out into Kawau Bay from the headland which separates Snells Beach from "our" beach. Apparently this is an "uncommon endemic" bird. The southern pied oystercatcher is described as an "abundant native", and although mainly in the South Island, they can come north for autumn and winter.

The dozen or more birds which accompanied this one were mostly in the black phase, some in this pied phase (very like the Southern Pied), and one or maybe two were in the intermediate phase.

They flew off shortly after this one indulged in these stretches.