This is the red-billed gull (Larus novaehollandiae) and if you’re thinking “Hey! That bill doesn’t look very red”, that’s because this is a young bird. The brown-black bill is the giveaway. Note also that the legs are as much brown as red; they also turn red as the bird matures. Red-billed gulls are easy to confuse [...]
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This eye-catching cluster of orange toadstools is possibly Amanita muscaria, whose common name is fly agaric. “Agaric” simply means it’s a mushroom with gills on the underside of the cap, and the “fly” part of the name comes from its use to kill flies in parts of Europe. Poisonous to flies, poisonous to us. Fly agaric starts [...]
This kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) on the Motueka estuary has found itself a tiny crab snack.
Ex-cyclone Gita came through the Tasman District in late February, doing considerable damage to orchards throughout the region. This photo was taken near an orchard in Lower Moutere, just a few kilometres south of Motueka. A nearby creek overflowed into this orchard, picking up apples from the ground, which have ended up tangled in the fence wires, [...]
The scientific name of this little guy is Petroica macrocephala, and tomtits do indeed have big heads (macro = big + cephala = head) attached to their tiny bodies. Tomtits feed on insects in native and exotic forests and subspecies are found throughout the country. This is a South Island tomtit (Petroica macrocephala macrocephala), photographed stalking [...]
The sacred kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) is found in lowland watery habitats: estuaries, lakes, rivers, streams and so on. They like to perch in trees, on fences and along power lines and they eat invertebrates and small vertebrates. On mudflats where vantage points are few, a rock or piece of driftwood allows these beautiful birds to [...]
Tobacco growing used to be common in the Motueka area, but since the 1970s, other crops such as hops and kiwifruit have displaced tobacco as the crop of choice. Kiwifruit (Actinidia species) are grown on trellises to support the heavy crop. In this photo, the vines form a dense canopy with near-ripe fruit hanging below, ready [...]
The swamp harrier/kāhu (Circus approximans) is New Zealand’s largest living bird of prey. The genus Circus gets its name from the Greek word kirkos, meaning “circle”, for the circling flight typical of hunting harriers. The harrier is one native bird that has benefited from human settlement; because they prefer prefer hunting in open areas, land [...]
This is Russula kermesina. The genus name Russula comes from “russus”, a Latin word for red, and members of the genus are known for sporting bright caps. The species name kermesina means crimson. This specimen’s crimson cap sitting atop its white stem made it easy to spot in the late day sun on a walk at Lake Rotoiti. Russula [...]
A tunnelling mud crab that ventures too far from its tunnels ends up, well, like this. Helice crassa, meet the sacred kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus).
