Wetlands with the 200-500

Last night, realizing that I was going to have to return the Tamron 200-500mm lens that I had been borrowing since last week, I decided I'd better try to get my money's worth out of the thing. I really didn't use it all that much at all this week. It was an impulse rental, and I kind of paid the price. But I've gotten my money's worth out of other rentals, so I think it probably will all work out in the end. Like, say, if I was actually keeping score, or anything.

But after supper (which was quick, seeing as it was between getting Nate home from Kung Fu, and getting Skip off TO Kung Fu with Ken), Nate and I popped down to the bay, and took a look around to see if we could find any birds heading home to roost at sunset.

I think that the birds all know where to roost. And it's in a place called "Out of Sight Of The People Who Have To Stay On The Paths and Decks"

These little guys didn't get the memo.

Nate was deep into the Guardians of Ga'oohle, (or however you spell that word). I think a bird could have flown down and sat on his shoulder and he wouldn't have noticed. He wasn't really thinking that it was such a great idea to go on a walk after supper, when there were other things to do.

But then we had a wee bit of luck as a little family was out for an evening stroll.

Nate went off with them to see where they were going.

And when they went running off into the water, Nate decided not to follow them. But the sun was great, so I had to take more photos.

(nice bokeh in this light!)

And then he peed in the bushes.

(image not available)

Even with the sun setting...

...there was still a dearth of birds, except for little ones, flying at the very edge of my view.

So we went off to the water treatment plant's settling ponds. There are always some birds there, even if they're just ducks and Canada Geese.

And then I got lucky, and Nate's running past me flushed out a little sweetheart from the weeds at the edge of the pool.

And then, while it wasn't the flocks of birds I was hoping for, some ducks started coming home to roost.

And then Nate said that it wasn't a waste of time, after all.