This little owl (Athene noctua) could be a fledgling. Its chest feathers are pretty fuzzy and it doesn’t have the spots on the top of its head that the one I posted a few months ago does. Little owls breed from October to January and this photo was taken late last summer, at Marchwood Park in [...]
Motueka
This black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) was one of a flock swooping around the Motueka River bridge feeding on flying insects. Black-fronted terns are regarded as primarily a species of the eastern and southern coasts of the South Island, breeding on braided rivers, then moving to the coast outside of the breeding season. The Motueka and [...]
This tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae) looks like he’s spent a lot of time slicking his hair back into a pompadour that’s kind of fallen flat. Nothing flat about a tūī’s voice, though. Their bell-like song makes them one of New Zealand’s most popular birds.
The pūkeko (Porphyrio melanotus melanotus) is common in the southwest Pacific and in Australia, they’re called the Australasian swamphen. The genus name, Porphyrio, is Latin for purple, and Porphyrio melanotus is regarded as a member of the “Purple swamphen complex”, a half a dozen similar that are found in southern Europe, Africa and Asia. They’re [...]
The silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) first appeared in New Zealand in the 1830s and became more common in the late 1800s. They’re common in Australia, and presumably the first silvereyes in New Zealand were blown across the Tasman in storms. They’re also called wax-eyes and white-eyes, and their Māori name is tauhou, meaning “new arrival”. This [...]
It’s more usual to see white-faced herons (Egretta novaehollandiae) in parks and paddocks after rain or on the estuary looking for food. In this photo taken during the summer, this young heron is checking out the local landscape from the very top of a tall tree. The lack of a white face gives away its [...]
This is the female chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs gengleri). She’s not as obvious as the rust-coloured male, and it’s easy to mistake her for a sparrow. Female chaffinches are a little bit smaller than sparrows, though, and have that grey swoop behind the ears that the male has. Another not-a-sparrow giveaway is the white on the [...]
One of the signs of spring coming is these guys brightening up. The male chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs gengleri) is always this rusty colour with the grey hood, but in spring the rusty colour gets really intense. Chaffinches are native to Europe and North Africa and were introduced to New Zealand in the late 1800s.
The colours of the welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena) are striking and distinctive; there are no other birds even remotely similar in appearance found in New Zealand. They’re fast, though, so you’re more likely to see them in flight, swooping under and over bridges or around the eaves of buildings. The swallow’s rust-coloured face and throat [...]
The Motueka Aerodrome just west of the town used to host Motueka Air. From 1984 to 1988, Motueka Air flew between Motueka and Wellington. In 1988, Motueka Air moved to Nelson Airport and was renamed Air Nelson. Now, the aerodrome is home to skydiving and microlight flight businesses, along with the Nelson Aviation College. This [...]
