2012-12-17 Morning walk, crabs and birds

This morning began cloudy and pouring at walk time so I delayed until the sun began peeking through. Everything was still wet, shiny and glistening under the sun. No Plovers, in the first field I pass though a mother hen and chicks pecked away too far across that field to get photos worth mentioning. 

 

Some crabs got my attention - one quiet large (body about ½ inch) one posed nicely in spots where its shadow gave me a point of focus. They are so nearly invisible when not scurrying from me! I got some decent shots of it.

 

And a few minutes later a hermit crab crawling around carrying the shell it had appropriated for a home, made for some more Kodak moments. It also gave me ample opportunity to snap several shots.

 

 

Also on the beach I was looking for a particular kind of coral for a project I have in mind so of course I saw none of it. I picked up plenty of other ‘treasures’ that look less like treasures back here than they had on the beach. How often I come in and examine may ‘haul’ wondering “Now why did I pick up that?!”  Today’s haul includes a great small piece of driftwood. I hope it looks as animal-like when it dries.

 

There was a nice, still somewhat blustery, breeze keeping me cool but not so strong as to be blowing me off balance. The sea tried that a couple times but I stayed upright. A good exercise in keeping balanced though. Nothing like the fear of the camera going swimming to motivate me.

 

On shore a bunch of terns were swooping and soaring but studiously avoiding giving me good shots! I swear they look down on “the human pointing the black thing” at them and immediately swoop for cover putting tree branches between them and me. Or make a sudden turn and double time it out of my camera range.

 

Coming home a few Plovers were in this end of the field and let me get as close as I dared without any sense of alarm. Watchful and slowly moving further down the field as I got closer but no alarm calls of “too-whet! too-whet!” and no flying off! Pleasing progress!

 

Back at my building, when leaving a brief chat with neighbors I heard a small sparrow calling attention to itself. It posed on the corner of the railing while I got off a nice shot.

 

All in all a very nice morning.