What happens when you sit still for 40 minutes

New Years morning...not much happening as far as Sunrises go at the beach.  Just the "left-overs" and the "hung-overs"from the celebrations of the night before.  At least everyone was picking up their rubbish.

  So I decided to head to the harbour and sit and have a coffee, you know...just contemplate the new year ahead, besides, if I went home this early, I'd wake the husband.

It never fails to amaze me, what happens when you just.... sit.... still........and watch.  That's harder said than done I know...but practice it, it has it's rewards.  So i'm parked up by a storm water pipe into the harbour.  

Then I notice a baby kingfisher, he was SO CUTE!!!  just squawking  quietly and sitting on a railing

I thought he was all alone until I looked up, and there on the Harbour marker was mum, watching for fish.  She was way to fast for me, diving in and flying back.

(Mum is on top of Triangle and Jnr is at the bottom railing near the white box)

Poor baby kingfisher got dive bombed by a Seagull

What the heck was that??

Then a dear wee Thrush was busy collecting grubs

Of course, there are always the rowdy Gulls...such opportunists

What the Heck !!! A DOVE ???? Yep, just busy about her day, Gulls were scattering in her path..she was a Dove on a mission

Next up, a Shag.  As it was early morning it was very busy finding fish, then after about 15min she got up to dry out her wings (sorry, don't know why I'm saying "She"?)

Now there's two Swans?  Where'd they come from? 

 I look away for 2 seconds and now there's two Shags! Never saw that other one...they almost form a heart..Ohhhhhw

Behind me (carpark) is the cities playground and sports center.  So as I'm sitting there I hear a car speeding down toward this area, right behind me, which is a feat as there are speed humps all down the road.  Blimmin Heck..next minute a cop car FLIES past me, screeches to a halt, reverses into a park and out leaps a policeman.  No siren, just speed.  

Out comes my zoom lens.....he's searching....I can't see anything, except at the far side of the park, another Police car has arrived. 

 They are definitely on the hunt but it's all pretty quiet.  The second Policeman leaves and the other is somewhere among the slides and jungle gyms.  OK so heart rate drops to normal as I focus back on the harbour.  

Good grief, there a big swirl in the water, I'm sure I can see a fin ??  It's too fast to photograph, maybe its Mackerel jumping, I try to get a closer shot.  

Two ladies out for a morning stroll stop to look with me.  Ahhh so it's a Stingray, and the fins we see are its wings.  A paddle-boarder heads out on the quiet water, unknowingly right past this beautiful ray just going about it's business.

Cop is still there...whatever it is, he must have it under control.

So in the space of about 40 minutes, I have seen, Mum and baby Kingfisher, Gulls, a Dove, a Thrush, Swans, Shags, Stingray fins, and the Police sacred the witts outa me.

Time to head home.  Remember, take time out to be still, to breathe and watch and learn.  It's good for the soul.  You'll never know what you may see, even at a Storm Water Drain !!