Shades of gold

Sunset is one of those moments that everyone likes to enjoy. And in this park, being able to combine the beautiful colours with birdwatching was just bliss. So, since this week's SMAP theme is free... time for some golden hour photos, but with special guests!

Tirana, the capital of Albania, has a huge city park with an artificial lake. Not only is a great place to hike and get some nature contact, it's also a great place to do some birdwatching. There are several species there, and I've spent a good part of the late afternoon exploring the lake; and as the sun went down, the scenery just got better. The coots seemed to be in hiding, but the exploration started as soon as the sun went down.

I love to see water reflections, even without birds and sunsets; but this definitely tops the experience. Not that coots are a rare species, but seeing them in this light was great; there was a whole family, but couldn't catch the little ones.

The only little one I've captured on camera was in an early golden hour, where there was already some dim light but still without the golden colours.

These grebes are tiny, and they dive frequently, so it's always a chase to see where will they surface next and how fast will they dive again.

And most of the time, I'm not fast enough!

Fortunately for me, the bigger grebes are calmer, more elegant... and these ones appeared at a perfect timing.

One the left of the photo, taking a good look at the coot; but each one followed their own path shortly after. So I was able to put it in the spotlight.

Males and females have periods of the year with different plummages, and this one looked like the female. Aand she also seemed to enjoy the sunset as much as me!

All grebes are excellent swimmers, and they dive in search for food. They do allow more time to take photos than the little grebes, but also with them... sometimes you're not fast enough. But with these colours reflecting on the water, I didn't cared as much this time!

The male also appeared, and he was by far the most elegant of the lake at that time. The head plummage is stunning, and this isn't even their prime.

How awesome it is to birdwatch in the golden hour? 😉

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