Mikepércs: Water Shrinkage

I was at the pond two weeks ago, so I waited today's actions curiously. The water has shrunk a lot, so the first thing I did was moving the hide on.
The stilts are here but as far as I can see only one family stayed here.The youngs appear soon, all four of them are here. They have grown a lot, they are almost as big as their parents. And they can even fly. Sometimes they come very close to the hide which act is not rewarded by the parents. On one occasion they bundle off one of the youngs.
There's not much light when a great white egret appears at one side of the hide. However the stilt parents start to molest it so the egret walks away soon. After some time a grey heron lands, of course the stilts don't leave it in peace either, so it takes off soon as well.
The youngs keep coming very close to the hide, perhaps finding more delicious food there:

Young Black-winged Stilt

Young Black-winged Stilt

The young wagtails appear near the hide as well as a young starling. Moreover, a ruff lands for a short time with a run-down plumage:

Ruff (male)

Preening:

Young Black-winged Stilt

Young Black-winged Stilt

The little ringed plovers are still on the area as well. The great white egret appears again: just next to the hide. This huge bird is really towering above me lying in the hide! I try to change the lens as I have no chance with the tele lens, it's so close. But in the next moment it takes off, it might have observed some movement behind the glass...
However it appears again after a short time a little further, ...:

Great White Egret

... not staying for long this time either.

Mikepércs: Fog Again

I hoped for some fog for this morning after having some rainy days. However when I got up the stars were shining brightly, only the western part of the sky was cloudy.

So, I had a rest in the hide resigning myself that there won't be any fog this morning. But when I'm looking up after half an hour, I can see quite a thick fog in front of me. Only the birds are yet to come. I don't have to wait long for them, as a couple of garganeys are landing and coming closer, where their legs reach the pond bed:

Garganey (male)

After a some time they leave:

Garganey (male)

Soon stilts and avocets appear. But a lapwing lands too.
As I notice, there are two couples of avocets in the area, they pass in front of the hide several times:

Avocet

Avocet

The redshank couple is in the area as well, one of them comes closer:

Redshank

Black-winged Stilt

Meanwhile I can hear black-headed gulls approaching, they land but can't be seen well because of the fog. And they don't stay long.
Soon a redshank is having a bath nearby, ...:

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

... then it starts preening:

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Black-winged Stilt

Meanwhile a few terns arrive.
The stilts stay nearby all time, and I notice that they have a nest in the rare vegetation, as one of them is sitting on it for a while.
Meanwhile a ruff turns up too:

Ruff (female)

Ruff (female)

The terns are flying above the water for quite a long time, ...:

Whiskered Tern

... and picking insects from the surface. I'm trying hard to catch them during this activity, however it's not simple:

Whiskered Tern

Whiskered Tern

I can see the stilts mating again, but this time they are close to the vegetation, so I can't take decent shots of them.

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

The lapwing lands again, this time accompanied by another one:

Lapwing

As the sun gets higher, the air is clearing, but the dewy cobwebs show how hazy the air was at dawn:

Black-winged Stilt

Mikepércs: Stilts In The Fog

It "rains a lot" nowadays, which means that the water level at the pond doesn't decrease, moreover it has increased a few centimeters from one week to another. I observe this today at dawn when I get to the hide. The bird activity however is slowly decreasing. But the stilts are sticking to the place.
The first bird that walks in is a common sandpiper probing the mud under the water. Then a water rail appears at the border of a typha bed nearby. It's looking towards me, so I'm turning the lens towards it very slowly, however when I nearly succeed to reach it, it leaves.
A spotted redshank in nearly breeding plumage lands:

Spotted Redshank

From time to time the wood sandpipers and the ruffs are falling together by the ears.
A "jolly" ruff:

Ruff (female)

I can't see a male ruff anymore I'm afraid.
Meanwhile I can feel cold, hazy air coming into the hide and I notice that some fog has settled down on the pond. Great! I start to shoot more frequently at the feeding stilts ...:

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

... and at the sandpipers nearby:

Wood Sandpiper

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Spotted Redshank

The godwits cannot be seen or heard anymore. It seems they have left.
After about 20 minutes the fog start to disappear. That's a pity, as the mating stilts would have looked nice in the haze:

Black-winged Stilts

Black-winged Stilts

Sometimes I peep out through the door of the hide, the situation on that area is the same: a few sandpipers are feeding, but an avocet is sitting on its nest! I wonder if they can breed successful.
I'm making some try with the sandpipers for a while before I leave:

Wood Sandpiper

Mikepércs: Dunlins

It was said to be overcast this morning, but as it isn't completely cloudy at dawn, I start.
I can't see many birds at the pond, mainly the running coots at the opposite shore, where the water is deeper.
I'm waiting for the birds which don't appear en masse, only one or two wood sandpipers, ruffs and spotted redshanks are coming now and then. Slowly a couple of stilts and a couple of avocets and a few black-headed gulls appear but the presence of the godwits is evident as I can hear their cry.
The two avocets marches along the pondbed regularly. One of them comes really close:

Avocet

This male ruff often chases the females which are nearby him:

Ruff (male)

Ruff (female)

One of the godwits is feeding almost on the same place all time, it doesn't want to come closer.

Suddenly a small flock of dunlins lands in the shallow water. They scour the shore section nearby back and forth regularly:

Dunlin

Dunlin