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.