Three Oystercatchers
These are South Island Pied Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus), in Wood Bay (map). When the tide comes in, they are pushed from the mudflats of the Manukau Harbour to the shore — where a photographer might be expecting them. We had a lot of rain recently, but yesterday’s long fine intervals gave this opportunity.
Don’t even think about red-eye correction!
Lovely shot. We also saw some Pied Oystercatchers on the Otago Peninsula but they were not pied at the time – only black. These are most handsome.