A Rare Sight on a Rainy Morning
After days of steady rain, I wasn’t expecting much from the morning. But as I drove between showers, a small group of Pied Stilts caught my attention – not on the shoreline where they belong, but standing out on open grass. Seeing stilts on turf is unusual enough that I slowed down for a second look.
Back With the Camera
I didn’t have my gear with me, so I dashed home, grabbed the camera, and returned hoping they’d still be there. Thankfully, the stilts remained, delicately stepping through the wet green field as if this grassy patch were their natural habitat.
They weren’t doing anything dramatic, so I focused on composition – spacing between birds, clean lines, and the novelty of that bright green backdrop. The session was peaceful, almost meditative. The images were pleasant and unusual, but nothing hinted at what was coming.
When the Heron Arrived
The calm ended abruptly when a Striated Heron flew in and scattered most of the stilts. What followed – the posturing, the theatrics, and the unexpected comedy quickly became the real story of the morning. It was dramatic enough to deserve its own article, which you can read here.
The Quiet Half of the Story
This post is about the quieter side of that rainy morning: stilts on grass, soft drizzle, and a rare chance to photograph these elegant birds far from their usual coastal home. Even without the chaos that came later, the stillness alone made the moment worth capturing.
The Gallery Ahead
Below is a selection of the frames from that calm session Pied Stilts moving gently across the rain‑soaked grass, sometimes alone, sometimes grouped, and occasionally sharing the field with the heron before everything turned dramatic. These images aren’t about action; they’re about mood, setting, and the unusual sight of shorebirds wandering across a bright green field.
They form the quiet prelude to a morning that became far more eventful than expected.
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