Kiwiblog

Well, dotterels have been in the news a bit this week, so here’s a shot of one in its breeding colours.

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Well, last Friday was devoted to a police issue so wasn’t thinking of photos then.

But today is a new day.

And today’s shot is of a male chaffinch- enjoy:

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Sorry for lags here, it’s been a grim week.

Hope this shot puts people in a good mood for the end-of-week.

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No biking mishaps today, and now I have coffee. Perfect.

So on to the photo; keeping up with the spring theme

I can see my nest from here

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Some foreign visitors enjoying the weather in NZ

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One of the latest arrivals to our insect fauna.

Well, after that Telecom campaign, there could only be one theme for today’s photo

Enjoy

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It’s tough everywhere

(Finally made it, coffee at hand. It feels like a quantity rather than quality day ahead)

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Well, I don’t usually do photos that have motivation based on politics, but I thought of Goff’s performance over the SIS when I looked at this Jacana tripping.

Walking on water isn’t such an easy act to sustain

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Hoping everyone has a good Friday,  replete with high quality coffee or other caffeinated beverages

Aah, my photo website is playing up. I hope this loads properly.

This is one of our Australian cousins- the pied shag

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Something to enjoy the morning coffee with

Needed to find some coffee first this morning.

Here’s a sunnier moment by an Australian billabong with a white heron.

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Someone believes that vitamin C is important at Winter time

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The white-eyes/tauhou are back and including our place in their foraging area.

Hope everyone enjoys their Friday. It’s a busy one here…coffee will be consumed

An apple a day…

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No need for any explanation I guess for what this bird is and what its doing.
Hope everyone has a good Friday.

And today, we have the return of a pied shag

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Had a bit of a family emergency last Friday hence the absence of a pic. Hope everyone has had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend.

Now…need to find me some coffee

A macro shot this morning of one of our smaller native longhorn beetles.

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Hope everyone has a good Friday.

Seemed to be hard work here making it to the end of the week… coffee consumption is on the rise

And back to the world of feathers. Probably our most attractive native shag species- the Pied Shag.

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It has an impressive diving ability (up to 20m). Shot was taken near Goat island at the Leigh Marine Reserve.

Something ‘scaly’ for this morning.
NZ has some of the most archaic gecko species in the world, as a consequence of our long isolation. They are though, often very cryptic.

This is one of the forest species

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This photo is from earlier in the week. It’s once again part of the Hauraki Gulf, but taken before dawn.

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The effect here on the waves is caused by the long exposure (motion blur) of 30 seconds, reinforced by a 3-stop ND filter.

It appeals to me as a kind of peaceful, quiet, scene

A bit belated this morning, but Autumn can deliver clear mornings where the sunrise is appealing.

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To get that sun-burst effect, the trick is to close the aperture down a lot.  I picked this site so the vegetation would produce a natural frame for the image (and give more ‘depth’ to the photo)

“Preparing to launch”

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It’s an estuarine crocodile, getting into the water. Liked the shot for the low angle, the reflection in the water and the colour scheme of the scales.  I miss being around crocodiles…

It’s into the world of beetles today & that famous gardener’s friend:

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It’s been a glorious morning watch the sun rise over a very still Hauraki Gulf.  Hope you all have a pleasant day too.

Sticking with the birds today- an Australian fig eater- the bird has just started on its task of converting the fruit into digestible chunks. (I liked the way the bird’s colours matched the background)

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Hope everyone is getting some relief from the humidity today. Coffee is beckoning me now however…

Today’s shot is of a slightly damp fantail at dusk. It had been feeding off insects congregating around a small pond.

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Despite the fact they’re quite common, their quick agile actions & small size make them challenging to photograph.

Finally back in the world of computers so have the chance to upload some new photos.

This is a macro shot of an insect synonymous with summer – Maori name is kihikihi IIRC.

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Now, off to find some coffee and unlock the secrets of the universe Hope everyone’s had a good week & anticipating a better weekend.

Thought we’d try a 3 for 1 deal this morning  It’s a stitched photo of a sea eagle in flight.

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Hope you all have a good day today. You can presume that coffee will be an ever present feature of mine

Something sunny for this morning. A cattle egret.

Today there’s a “work do”, so I suspect I’ll be replacing coffee with alcohol today.

Hope you all have a good day too.