Every September for the past decade I have visited a wonderful unspoilt estuary in South Devon where the River Erme meets the sea. The estuary and its surrounds barely change. The occasional tree on the surrounding hills falls down but otherwise the ebb and flow of the water and the life that come with it remain the same.
Flight of Canada geese in the early morning
Something else that does not change is that I take many hundreds of photographs. Of the same scenes, the same same species in the same light. But I love it. The photographs have, thankfully, tended to improve over the years. Both in terms of my abilities and the quality of the cameras. The light at this time of year is gorgeous and I find myself photographing hour after hour, day after day. Given the nature of a tidal estuary the view is constantly changing and I can watch it for hours. I still do not know my favourite tide height - sands exposed or water flowing in to fill the space.
Geese feeding at low tide.
The estuary is a haven for birds. Canada geese are the main bulk flying up and down the estuary to various feeding grounds depending on the time of day and the tides. They fly in wonderful formations, breaking as they come in to land, their combined wings making a wonderful noise as they fly past. Heron and egrets are constant lookouts, feeding in the shallows or waiting for the high tide to fall. Gulls flock to and fro the coast in large numbers. Ducks busy about. Comorants self isolate. Curlews haunt the air with their cries feeding in the sand and mud. Swans patrol up and down, sometimes flying with amazing air rush wingbeats, sometimes drifting lazily back up with the tide.
Oaks line the sides of the estuary - they are not banks but a merging of water to hiil. When the water is still the reflections of the trees make incredible backdrops to the birds in the water.
Heron feeding in the shallows, oaks reflected in the water.
The mornings frequently offer mist, the evenings a calm or vibrant sunsets. All conditions add to the wonder that is September light. Even the boats that anchor the images looking towards the sea remain constant from one year to the next. My winter mission is to edit and collate the best of the images from the last 10 years. Compare and contrast, but most likely find myself looking at the same images over and over again.
Evening flight of the geese