Too Cold for the South Island Pied Oystercatcher

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Winter has arrived in Auckland, with a flourish this week. It's almost as if someone noted the date on the calendar and said "June 1st? Switch on the cold weather". This morning we woke up to a frost and took our time getting ready for our Friday walk with the dogs. I kept adding layers and even went looking for gloves. It's strange to think that only 3 weeks ago I was still in shorts and sleeveless tops. When we reached the local beach before the coffee shop, we saw this large flock of birds on the beach. As we got closer I saw that most were standing on one leg, and some had their beaks tucked under their wings still snoozing. It was after 10.00am so it's also possible that they were just trying to keep their beaks warm. As we drew closer, our presence disturbed them and the flock moved towards the water. I saw a couple hopping along and thought "Poor things must have lost a leg" As more and more started hopping, I realised that they were just keeping one leg tucked up and warm as long as possible. Who knew that sand would be that cold or that birds feet would be that sensitive? I looked them up when I got home and wondered why a bird that lives and breeds in the South Island of New Zealand (that's the cold end of the country - nearest to the Antartic) would find balmy Auckland temperatures so cold. Maybe they should migrate to the tropics!