This Trio of young Caspian Terns were found in the sand dunes which make up the spit that forces the Waikanae River to run an extra kilometre before it can enter the Tasman Sea...

The 'lead' bird looked vaguely surprised as I walked over the top of the nearby dune; I was too, but I kept my distance, and they coped with their surprise very well...!

ACTIVITY FEED
Please be aware that once again, my Activity Feed has "crashed". If I fail to comment on your photo it will likely be because the Activity Feed for Saturday afternoon is still out of order.


Thanks so much for the very kind and encouraging comments beneath this photo...! Your support is always greatly appreciated.

© All Rights Reserved

Just metres before the small Waikanae River runs into the Tasman Sea, it hits some low-level sand dunes, forcing it to turn 90 degrees, and to flow an extra kilometre or so behind the dunes.

Eventually the river finds a gap in the dunes, turns another 90 degrees, and finishes it's journey into the Tasman Sea.

It is along this sand spit that Waders and a selection of Gulls can be found, so I never expected a flock of...

... 50 or 60 Grey Teals...!!! (The rest of the birds are stretched out along the shoreline to the left and right of this fivesome!).

Initially, I thought this was a flock of birds preparing for a long-distance migration, but although Grey Teals first arrived from Australia, these birds now reside in NZ year round.

And upon checking in with "Grey Teals - New Zealand Birds Online", I discovered that "...the preferred habitat is shallow freshwater lakes, lagoons and swamps with extensive marginal cover, but at times birds are seen on salt and brackish water." (nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/grey-teal).

So that explained why this large flock was feeding on the shores of the estuary - a site that one would usually expect to find flocks of Red-Billed Gulls, Black-Backed Gulls, Terns, and perhaps even a Godwit or two who have decided not to migrate to Alaska.

But a large flock of Grey Teals...? Definitely not a breed I expected to find...!


Thanks so much for the very kind and encouraging comments beneath this photo...! Your support is always greatly appreciated.

© All Rights Reserved

Each year, at the end of April through to the Middle of May, Monarch butterflies migrate to the Californian Redwood that's growing behind the local Anglican (Episcopalian) church.

No-one knows where they come from, or where they go at the end of August, but year after year, these little creatures turn up to spend the winter months in the big Redwood...!

When they leave the church yard, the butterflies will flutter their way back to their breeding grounds, they will lay their eggs, and then they will die - but their life span will have been 6 to 7 months, whereas those butterflies who don't migrate only live for 6 or 7 weeks.

As for the newly hatched butterflies, come the end of March, they will make their way to the same place that their parents wintered over at.

So given that their parent/s have died before they've been born, how do the newly hatched butterflies know where to go for the winter? That is the million dollar question that has yet to be answered...!

Last September, there were two bitterly cold storms, and it's suspected that the number of butterflies died from the cold; last year there were upwards of 40 butterflies wintering over. This year - so far - there are probably only about ten who have reached the Redwood...

In the photo above, I found two Monarchs close to each other, and took their photo - only to find in the review screen that there were actually 4 in the frame, and when I viewed the photo on the laptop screen, lo and behold: there was (I think!) a fifth (Behind the lower right butterfly...!).

As far as I can see, there are no more hidden in the branches...! :-))


Thanks so much for the very kind and encouraging comments beneath this photo...! Your support is always greatly appreciated.

© All Rights Reserved

A song to hum along to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOok1WzZbOY&ab_channel=TheFre... - California Dreaming...!


Thanks so much for the very kind and encouraging comments beneath this photo...! Your support is always greatly appreciated.

© All Rights Reserved

I recently went for a wander around our local Anglican (Episcopalian) church yard, and as the mature trees succumbed to the change in Seasons, I was pleasantly surprised at what I found when I took some Time Out to look carefully...

These are the leaves of a Gingko tree that has started to change;. The day in question was a glorious sunny day, and the bright sunlight shone through the leaves, giving them a lovely sort of semi-transparent appearance...!


Thanks so much for the very kind and encouraging comments beneath this photo...! Your support is always greatly appreciated.

© All Rights Reserved