It was one of those perfect days – a light breeze and warm without being hot. 

The approach to this nest has to be made in a certain pattern, as there are a lot of shallows and oyster racks in the area.

So, hugging the coastline, my first find was a sea eagle sitting high on a tree.

But the subject for today was to be the nesting osprey so I continued on.

Eventually I arrived at the nest and was disappointed to find that it was empty. 

I found out later the chick was spotted rising up and down only two days earlier, so it was obvious that I had missed it.

 I moved on and spotted a large group of birds on a few oyster racks, which turned out to be bar-tailed godwits.

They were having a rest on their long journey from Siberia to our southern states – in Australia and on to New Zealand – it never fails to make me wonder how birds manage to make such a demanding trip.

The godwits had just arrived from their breeding grounds in Siberia for a quick refuelling stop in the mudflats around the Yellow Sea.

They are having major problems there because the Koreans and Chinese are reclaiming those areas to build steelworks and car factories.

Nobody knows for certain how bar-tailed godwits got their rather exotic name, but they use their long bills with great dexterity, sinking them in the mud up to the base in search of crustaceans, molluscs, marine worms and other creatures.

The female is slightly larger than the male with a correspondingly longer bill – in both sexes the bill is usually slightly upturned.

In flight bar-tailed godwits form close flocks that can range from 30 birds to 2000, and fly at a steady speed. 

The images with this article were probably lucky shots as the birds lifted off and swept round towards me and I was able to get of a few shots with the 100-400mm stabilised lens.

They then moved swiftly out of the region, probably in a southern direction, so my day did not turn out to be a loss as I have a good record of a subject which is not easy to obtain.

The print and digital night which completes the year for the Camera Club will be held at the Maitland City Bowling Club on the first Tuesday of December at 7pm. 

On view that night will be the members’ best prints and digital images of the year. 

All are welcome to attend.

Maitland International Exhibition of Photography is online and open for entries. This represents one of the top exhibitions in the world, and will be on view during the Maitland Show and at the Maitland City Art Gallery in the coming year.