The past couple of weeks have been anything but a birders paradise in terms of weather. Even the birds know it!

The beach at Point Cook where we currently are frequenting, has been beaten upon by wind and wave, and the sands have been moved from one location to another. It’s quite interesting to see part of the rock formations now standing boldy in the water, and further along the beach new sloped, almost perfectly sculpted, sands that would be prized in any tourist location.

From the early settlement days there is remnant of a pier that now stands, just a bit forlornly, a shadow of its former self. It has long been a resting place for the local cormorants and gulls, and now because many of the foreshore rocks are covered by sand, it is even busier that previously.

One of the birds that regularly come to rest and dry out are Little Pied Cormorants.
For some reason, they seem to have a habit of a most ungainly landing technique and no two ever seem to be the same.
So it’s rather fascinating to see them slip in across the water, all sleek and wings held out, to lift up and suddenly their confidence seems to change, and body, wings, and feet all seem to go in wildly different directions.

I’m sure there is method to it all, but it does provide for some interesting observations.
Add to the normal challenges, this one was landing into about a 40kph+, with a few bursts that would have been much higher.

Still, persistence pays off.