I mentioned this day trip with an early start in my post Serendipity in Bird Photography. The main driver was to see the large flocks of migrants prior to departure and share the spectacle with 2 friends who had not seen it before. Tide height and timing gave us the opportunity to see the waders arriving on their high tide roost and then again departing to feed as the tide receded.

The shorebirds arrived in waves for the morning roost so we had repeated opportunities to photograph them flying in the morning light.

As they approach departure the international migrants seem to cluster more closely in species specific groups rather than intermingling. On this visit knots and godwits were mainly grouped in the central and southern parts of the pond with a large flock of South Island Pied oystercatchers on the eastern part and Pied stilts on the south west. Toward the north a large flock of wrybill had a cluster of Pacific Golden plover near their margin.

The arrival flights had given us some nice warm low light but by the time of departure the light was less appealing. The godwits were the first to begin departing, initially in ones and twos.

We moved to try and get some better backgrounds and clear foreground flax spikes in the hope of a staged departure. The birds had a different plan with almost the entire flock of godwits and knots deciding to erupt together. This as stunning to witness but severely limited photo opportunities. In their phase of superfeeding prior to departure there is not a moment to lose so none were prepared to wait around while their competitors for calories were out on the feeding flats.

With the migrants largely gone we were left with a few residents like the White-faced herons.

Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S