June 21, 2014 … solstice sunshine

Yesterday morning, my windscreen was misted up on the outside, so naturally I turned my wipers on.

The conditions were just perfect and even from here I could see spoonbills, stilts, geese, and other waterfowl.

Instead of wet clear glass, I got that mocking dry rasp of rubber blades bouncing on ice. The clear blue sky in Taradale and the morning chill should have warned me, but the day looked so perfect, so innocent, I had not expected ice. Having cleared that mystery, and the windscreen, I went out to Ahuriri. See how still the morning was. No ND filters were needed here. This is a simple shot, as seen by the camera.

Mallard ducks trying to decided whether to run away from the person with the camera

I began my exploration on SH2 looking to the West, and though common mallard ducks would not normally excite me, I just loved their setting.

Shades of blue

Obviously the morning was so perfect and so full of promise that I decided I should walk the 4 km circuit of the inlet and see what else  I could find. Again the stillness was captivating and I enjoyed the shades of blue in the sky, in the hills, in their reflections and in the water.

Pied stilt in flight

My first encounter was with pied stilts which are plentiful around this inlet. They are shy creatures though and flew off if I came too close. The bird and its reflection were appealing.

Kingfisher lurking at the edge

As I approached the now disused Napier to Gisborne railway line, I spotted a kingfisher lurking. Since I was dressed for the funeral, I chose not to leave the formed path, and settled for the distance shot.

Bar-tailed godwits staying on for winter

Walking beside the railway over the old road bridge, I spotted a significant flock of bar-tailed godwits which I expected to have left on their annual migration to Siberia by now. It seems that some proportion of them “winter over”, and will not make the trip until next year.

The old bridge at Ahuriri

I got many more shots on my circuit of the inlet but the last one I put forward in this edition is a panorama of the old road bridge, stitched together from six separate hand-held images. It was a perfect morning.

In the afternoon, we said our farewells to, and celebrated the life of, my late Mother-in-Law, Catherine Bidwell, a fine lady. May she rest in peace.