With reasonably sunny weather this last few days there has been an opportunity for some good birds and other wildlife sightings. I have enjoyed the Sanderling at Dawlish Warren and been trying to get better shots. These are an interesting little bird that is more likely to scurry away in the surf than take flight. The only problem this week has been the totally selfish and odd behaviour of walkers that you encounter on the beach. It is amazing how little some people care about what you are doing. I have already told you of the older man the other day but yesterday I encountered a man who with his wife were so rude that it left even me speechless. I was trying very hard to photograph Sanderling and Ringed Plover when a couple in their early 60’s I would have thought, walked right towards the little flock that I was trying to photograph. I asked really politely if they would mind walking around the back of me and not through the flock, and honestly I was really polite. The answer was “We come here all the time” and they just ploughed on through! I don’t know what the “we come here all the time” statement was supposed to imply but she obviously thought it gave her some kind of ownership.

It was just after that, that I saw a cormorant emerge from the depths with an eel, or so I thought, in his beak. There was quite a tussle to get it under control to swallow and I managed to get really near for some photos. On closer inspection it turned out not to be an eel but some kind of Pipe Fish. You can clearly see the odd shaped tail and the circular stripes. The photos are in sequence and if you open each one up in a seperate window by clicking on the thumbs you will get a good idea of the chain of events. You will also see what a big pipefish it was, almost too big to swallow. It took the bird at least 3 minutes to get it down.
Here is the best Sanderling photo from yesterday, what lovelly little birds they are