Great Knot

We drove down the gravel road
Parked in a shaded spot close
To the path over the dunes
Binoculars and notepads
In our eager hands

Wooden slats wired together
To climb up over the dunes
Julie held tight to my hand
As the sea breeze blew head on
The low shining sands

Carefully we clambered down
To the beach spread out all round
Waves washed in with furious might
Shorebirds scampering with glee
Across wide wetlands

We walked down to the surfs edge
Hoping to spy a Great Knot
To tick off our life's list
As birdwatching was our game
We were holding hands

A place to sit we did find
To get the birds used to us
Eyes searching every group
As birds got back to work
We checked whole wide strand

Birds patterning sky above
Others feeding at shores edge
One jumped to avoid the spray
"That's it" Julie simply said
Voice almost offhand

I checked, she was right of course
As the seas spray pushed them back
Several Knots were down there
Julie simply took some shots
Camera in hand

Image found at http://www.arthurgrosset.com/ozbirds/greatknot.html