I had a little time to myself at the salt pans the other day. Saw a lot of birds of course but also enjoyed the solitude of being alone with the birds and the elements. A cold front had hit along with strong winds so I even had to put on a wind breaker as temperatures dropped to 18C.
In this posting I will show you some of the birds flying about.
First one is the very common Pond Heron. Yes, Chinese and Javan can not be seperated in winter plumage.
Whiskered Tern, being a marsh tern, is always the most numerous in the salt pans and the marshy areas.
The area has thousands of Black-tailed Godwits this year. I managed to isolate one individual.
Little Terns are also quite common and some of them are starting to assume breeding plumage when the bill is changing from an all black bill.
This year also has plenty of Great Knots. This is the largest Calidris and I actually don't even think of it as one as it simply is comparatively huge.
To my joy some ducks were about. Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Eurasian Wigeons.
The shorebirds were often up from the deck and sometimes the cause was this Peregrine Falcon.
Grey Plover seemed to enjoy the company of Great Knots.
Here the dark axilleries are showing well.
Caspian Tern is always a spectacular bird. It is simply huge. I enjoyed listening to its calls and viewing it feeding in a pan.
Lots of smaller waders about as well. Here Broad-billed and Curlew Sandpiper with a lone Kentish Plover.
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Merry Christmas