Tasman Every Day

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 out with white spots, but those can wash off in heavy rains, and there had been a lot of heavy rain in the days before this photo was taken at Lake Rotoiti.

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, along with other storm debris.

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 trampers in the Cobb Valley/Fenella Hut area of the Kahurangi National Park. The little white fleck above its bill is barely noticeable in this photo, but when the tomtit really wants to show off, this blip can be made to stand up and appear larger.

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 spot their next meal.

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 for easy picking any day now.

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 cleared for agriculture is ideal habitat. They feed mainly on carrion, so it’s not uncommon to come across a harrier on the road picking at some unfortunate dead thing. They’ll also hunt mice, rats and other small mammals, along with small birds, lizards, frogs and insects.

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 kermesina is found under beech trees (Nothofagus species).

A tunnelling mud crab that ventures too far from its tunnels ends up, well, like this. Helice crassa, meet the sacred kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus).