Boxing Day birds

I went for a walk today down to the sea, the shining sea. It’s been a while since I’ve been fro a good long walk down there, so I took my camera to spend the afternoon just photographing whatever took my fancy.

gull

I found a bunch of sea gulls having a swim so I stopped to take some photos.

I only have a short 135mm lens, so I had to get really close to get a good shot. I found a specific gull and locked on target. Slowly, carefully like a great cat, I stalked my prey. Every few steps I stopped and let him get used to me being a little closer.
A few steps more, and I was nearing the sweet spot. I fired off a few shots to see if the sound of the camera shutter would make him fly away.

gull

No, he wasn’t bothered.

Another step, crunch!

Bugger! I stepped in dry seaweed. The gull crouched ready to fly away so I stopped. So hid he. We stared at each other for a bit. Then he went back to having a drink.

Stealthily I crept forward. You could almost see my mane flowing in the light breeze, I was so like a lion on the Serengeti.
I crouched ready to get a really good closeup. He turned towards me and posed.

gull

Then from behind I heard the sound of laughing and crunching stones and a mother and her daughter came running up shouting ‘Yay! Watch the birdies fly!’

Needless to say, my quarry was gone in a couple of wing beats. I felt like shouting at them’ Can you not see what I’m doing here? Half an hour it’s taken me to get this close!’

But that would have upset their day. So I got up and began walking back home, stopping off to take some more pics along the way.

small bird

small bird

I wasn’t that upset really.

I’m more annoyed that I didn’t think to take photos of them running into the cloud of gulls as the flapped into the air.

Next time.


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