On the road from Kaiteriteri to Marahau lies Tokongawa Drive, a side road that goes down towards Split Apple Rock beach. From the turnoff to Moonraker Way, it’s only a 600m walk down to the beach. The area surrounding Tokongawa Drive is covered in manuka and kanuka scrub, but the track down to Split Apple [...]
Places
Bellbirds/korimako (Anthornis melanura melanura) are honeyeaters and, for this reason, are important to New Zealand forests: they pollinate the flowers of many species of trees and shrubs. They feed on fruits as well, which means they’re also important in dispersing the seeds of different native plants. The song of the bellbird is full of pure [...]
At the northwest end of Kaiteriteri Beach, Kaka Point rises above the town, looking out over Kaka Island and towards the hills on the eastern side of Tasman Bay. Archaeologists have found evidence suggesting that Kaka Point was used as a kainga, or undefended pā. Today, there’s a reserve on the site that includes this [...]
It’s been wet, wild and wintery the last few days, and I like to remind myself that spring is around the corner with photos of baby animals from last year. So here we have a black swan (Cygnus atratus) with cygnet. The black swan has a rather confusing history in New Zealand. Black swans are [...]
Summer’s coming! And that means soon there will be lots of babies, including quail babies, which are about the size of bumblebees when they hatch. California quail (Callipepla californica) were introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s and they’re now found in shrublands throughout most of the country. This family was shot (in the photographic [...]
This is the little shag (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos). It’s quite a bit smaller than the pied shag, at 56-58 cm long, compared to the pied shag’s 65-85 cm. The little shag is found throughout New Zealand’s coastal areas and the population is thought to be between 5000 and 10,000 pairs. Little shags like to feed in [...]
This is yesterday’s robin mistaking the camera pack’s zipper for a worm. Uh, no, it’s firmly attached to the bag, not to mention indigestible. But she did have a good go.
Robins (Petroica australis australis) are curious things, and they can get pretty bold, even when the subject of their interest is considerably larger than themselves. This robin is checking out the camera pack with attached flask. Hey, you never know where a delicious worm might be hiding!
What I love about this photo is the detail in the feathers, especially around her chest patch. Males robins (Petroica australis australis) have a much more clearly demarked chest patch that goes right up to its neck, whereas the girls have more of a splotch. All robins, whether male or female, adopt quite a quizzical [...]
This South Island robin (Petroica australis australis) was nice company on a late winter walk up to the Riuwaka Resurgence. The robin’s genus name, Petroica, comes from the Greek for rock (petro) and home (oikos), because the birds like to sit on rocks. Hmm, this Petroica species is a forest dweller and doesn’t show a [...]
