Auckland - Birds

I've always liked Hans-Peter Feldmann's little book, The Little Seagull Book (Walther Konig, 2004) which presents a series of photographs Feldmann made while on vacation in Scotland in the 70's. These ordinary seagull pictures celebrate the simple beauty of nature and the very essence of life.

Here are some birds flying west into a darkening winter sky that I photographed yesterday afternoon from the deck of the Devonport ferry as it headed into Auckland harbor. What can be more fundamental and inspiring than observing this incredible performance.... I'm not sure what the bird is, possibly the short-tailed shearwater, a migratory bird that heads south in the Pacific at this time of year.