On July 2nd, 2023, I visited the beach next to the famous Whale Bone pier in Umhlanga – to watch the sunrise, see what birds were around, and dabble in some silhouette photography.
My initial plan was to be on the pier at sunrise to take advantage of any terns and gulls that flew past the pier’s edge in the stunning early morning light. The plan quickly changed when I realized the tide was low, and on the exposed rocks were three African Oystercatchers. I raced off the pier to line one of the birds up with the sun peeking over the horizon. Unfortunately, the birds weren’t in the perfect position while the sun was low on the horizon, and the plan didn’t work out. Even though it isn’t ideal, I still enjoyed the image below.
Without initially knowing it, by running down and getting into position for the oystercatchers, I had inadvertently put myself in a good position from both a birding and photography perspective for the next hour.
Once the sun had risen, the bird activity increased drastically, and my low position on the rocks meant that many birds came in reasonably close. The oystercatchers became my main target on the rocks, and luckily, they were confiding, and I managed to get a wide array of photographs as they fed on mussels on the rocks.
Greater Crested Terns and Kelp Gulls were constant features on the horizon, calling frequently to make their presence known.
Cape and African Pied Wagtails announced their presence with their sweet voices in between feeding on tiny invertebrates and other morsels of food.
In winter on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, birds such as the Cape Cormorant temporarily make their way further north than usual. One bird flew in early and spent most of the time I was there sunning itself on the rocks. The much larger White-breasted Cormorant joined its cousin for a short while.
A pair of Pied Kingfishers eventually arrived and took advantage of the small fish trapped in the shallow pools – hunting in their impressive hovering fashion.
Other distractions included a brief appearance from a juvenile Black Sparrowhawk hunting Rock Doves on the beach and an immature Cape Gannet patrolling the open ocean.
Even though I only spent one hour on the beach, it was filled with activity, and I managed to walk away with a sample of photographs.