Monday, July 08, 2019

An afternoon on the beach. Waves, wind and seagulls with a little rain


On a cold, blustery afternoon, the sound of crashing waves could be heard very well at our house, high up on Signal Hill. We took a mid-afternoon stroll on the beach at Bantry Bay

Splash!
The Hartlaub's Gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii) is endemic to the coast from Cape Town up to Namibia
About one half of the total population, currently estimated at about 30 000 birds, is within the Greater Cape Town area
It is a small dainty gull, about the size of a large pigeon, but has the most amazing ability to fly in any conditions
Coming in to land
Touchdown!









Snow white sea foam
An angry mid-winter sea with rain fast approaching 
Kelp clinging onto the crevices in the wave battered Cape Granite

 My favourite beachcomber, well wrapped up, looking for pretty shells
tide coming in
And a fresh wind blows back the surf on the incoming waves
A red-winged starling (Onychognathus morio), not normally seen as a seabird, on the rocks at Bantry Bay
My mother had a timeshare at the Bantry Bay resort (second block from the right) and loved it

An old tidal pool that is very popular in the summer
 Selfie
Seagulls fly, pigeons take up a sheltered position by the wall
And the wind tears the summer palm trees to shreds We have seen winter storms where the waves hit the rocks beneath the flats and hotel so hard that they crest at the 5th floor level. 
 A brave lady getting her weekend exercise 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Such beautiful photography. Thanks for sharing:)

Unknown said...

is this gull related to Jonathan Livingston seagull??