I recently had a day with the freedom to choose entirely what I did. No plans. No chores. Nothing that could not be put off to another day. A trip up the road to Lake Okareka had to be included in the plan.

Exploring new places is always exciting but sometimes a familiar walk is the right choice. As with visiting an old friend there is a comfort to explore and appreciate the changes brought with the passage of time which, on this day, was appropriate

I left the visit for later in the day in the hope of getting the low light and this payed off. Subject opportunities were a little limited but there were a good number of Welcome Swallows flying over a smooth area of water which attracted my attention.

This provided plenty of flight opportunities with options of a clean background so this consumed most of my time.

I noticed a Fantail fluttering low over the water surface and was intrigued to find on reviewing my files that it was picking a trapped insect from the surface film.

As the light was dropping and I headed away there was an interesting group of Pied Stilts at the lake margin. I was not able to approach close enough without risking disturbance as there were two other photographers amongst the lake edge vegetation so just enjoyed their interaction from a distance.

Photo with Nikon D850 and 500mm f5.6PF