Random shots by random waters

I love being near water; better yet, if I can see birds nearby. And fortunately, shores of rivers and sea are fantastic spots for wildlife watching! So since we have a free theme for this week's SMAP, I'll make it a birds by the shore edition... or with water nearby, also counts!

^{Black-winged stilt - Himantopus himantopus}

I've seen countless stilts in my birdwatching sessions, and I think this is one of my favourite photos of them. Maybe because the leg colour here is so nitid! Or maybe this little guy had extra pinky legs; whatever the reason, the contrast with the black and white pattern of the rest of the body looks pretty cool.

^{Canada goose - Branta canadensis}

I wasn't even going ofr a birdwatching session here; this was a long time ago, visiting a friend in Stockhold. And while strolling near the canals, a family of canadian geese was casually swimming by, adults and juvenile mingled - you can easily spot the juveniles, since they still don't have those characteristic neck colours of the adults.

^{Yellow-legged seagull - Larus michahellis}

Yes, I know. No water on the photo! But c'mon, it's a seagull! It's bound to have water nearby; and this one had! Plenty of it, actually, since she was posing in a small island off the coast of Portugal.

^{Grey heron - Ardea cinerea}

OK, back to the water photos with birds in it. This is a portuguese model too, although I can't recall where exactly I took it; it was near the golden hour, and although the colours aren't golden, the fading light suits the lonely feeding session. I was near, but she was laser focused on trying to spot dinner!

^{Hooded crow - Corvus cornix}

Albeit the gliding pose near water, this crow was actually fleeing the scene from one of the Nile cruisers. It was frequent to see them fly to the boats and perch in the balcony, likely hoping for a free meal. They are highly intelligent, so maybe they were up for something sneakier... I guess I'll never know!

^{Great cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo}

And to wrap it up, another Nile visitor; cormorants were commonly spotted during this trip, but this was the only one in a seemingly "Jesus Christ" pose! Instead of swimming or soaking up sun at the shore or in the several small islets nearby, this one seemed like it was floating on top of the water. A very shallow spot... or magical powers?

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