Take off!

A walk to the beach just East of Seafield, today. The tide rose higher and higher, until finally there was no more space on the strand, and off flew the birds.

I had great fun stalking a flock of mixed waders, they're all in this shot...
the big black and white ones are Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus); the wee ones with the short bills are (I think) Dunlin (Calidra alpina) and the ones with the long bills and barred tails are Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa laponica)

The last named species hold the record for the longest continuous flight without stopping to feed; a radio-tagged female flew from New Zealand to Alaska, about 7.5 thousand miles.