Finally!

Well, almost.

Despite the apparent assistance of the wee fairy, this heron struggled to get the crab into the right position to swallow. I watched (and took a sequence of pictures) as it came up with a crab, dropped it, caught it again, dropped it once more, and then managed to get it into the right position to swallow. There was one drop after this picture.

This was a late afternoon walk along the edge of the bay as the tide was coming in. There were more herons nearby, and a number of kingfishers (kotare) frustrated me with not allowing me to get near enough for a decent photo, as they darted away rapidly. Once I got a moderately clear photo of the kotare zooming off.

Earlier in the day I had gone back to the city to help daughter J bring her stuff back up to the beach; she has to move house, and this is the best short term option. Later we have farewelled daughter C, and her boys as they have gone back to the city. We will be here a few days more.

The fairy's curls are easier to see if you look large.