I have been visiting Front Beach/Flaxmill Bay on the Coromandel Peninsular regularly for as long as I can remember. In early January I was pleased to see, for only the second year I can recall, New Zealand Dotterels breeding there. This was the first I have seen a chick, so I obviously took the opportunity to photograph it. The morning broke overcast and dull. With slow shutter speeds, making sharp exposures was a challenge, and the keeper rate was lower than usual. However, with the new 50D I was able to use a higher ISO and get better images than my previous body, and I managed to get a few nice shots.
It was interesting to observe the tiny chick, and what appeared to be its single parent, scurrying about happily amongst people lying on the beach. However, neither was happy about the presence of dogs on the beach, which sent the adult into a panic, and the chick darting for cover. I had serious fears for the survival of this chick, so was thrilled when I returned several weeks later to find two dotterels, presumably the adult and a now nearly fully grown chick on the same stretch of beach.
I have just uploaded half a dozen new photos of the chick, and a few of the stunning adult too. You can never have enough NZ dotterel photos!