Coming in for a kiss
The Black-Tailed Godwits at Seaton Wetlands have been pairing up before their journey north to Iceland for a summer of raising a family.
This couple seemed quite inexperienced to me. The male is on the left as he goes in for a kiss to the female on the right. He’d been fluttering for a while and she had been bending invitingly low:
Aren’t they delightful?
It didn’t stay tender for long. They preened one another briefly until he grabbed the feathers on her head and tugged:
And then he stood on her head and held it under the water:
He was meant to woo her a little more, I think, and then mount her from the other end.
I hope he’ll get the hang of it soon.
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