Miraz Jordan Profile Photo

Miraz Jordan

I love simplicity and silence. On this blog I share bits and pieces from my daily life. In late 2025 I moved to Ruakākā near Whangārei in Aotearoa. 100% human (she / her). Since July 2024 I've been doing resistance training to help me maintain my independence as I age. Now 71, I'm super happy to be getting old β€” it means I'm not dead yet! I believe all beings have the right to clean water, nutritious food and adequate shelter, and that humans are simply one small part of the amazing life on this planet that supports us all: humans, animals, plants. I joined the MB community on 05 January 2018. Follow me on Micro.Blog at https://micro.blog/miraz .

  • A month ago I had a blurry photo of two Warou | Welcome swallow eggs in a nest above the zendo door.

    Today's photos are of two Swallow babies in the nest. A bit hard to see but look closely. 🐦

    The location's so tight I just can't get photos from any other angle.

    Mud nest with a small bird head and the underside of a bird beak.
    Mud nest with a small bird head and the underside of a bird beak.

    Here's a couple of adults.

    Two swallows on a roof, as seen from above.

  • I've been so focused on other birds recently I've ignored the little Weweia | New Zealand dabchick. They're such cuties! 🐦

    Smallish bird on the water of a lake. The bird has a dark body, long russet neck and a small head with a beady eye.
    Smallish bird on the water of a lake. The bird has a dark body, long russet neck and a small head with a beady eye.

  • I think this little waxeye on the deck railing (and through the window) might have been a juvenile. 🐦

    Tiny bird with white breast and green head and wings, looking at the camera.

  • Those baby stilts weren't visible today, but I paced out where they were yesterday and it was 65 to 130 metres from my possie.

    Meanwhile today I concentrated on the adults divebombing me while I looked for their kids. Their fury is continuous! 🐦

    Pied Stilt flies right at me, with sky behind.
    Stilt at about my head height flies straight for me; it is only a few metres away.
    The stilt at head height is even closer.

  • In my quest for better photos of Pied Stilt chicks I was at the beach for a windless, cool dawn. Alas, I'm still not up to the task of good photos of teeny tiny sand coloured birds at a great distance. However, I really like this shot of an adult stilt with reflection and water spray. 🐦

    Adult stilt near 3 tiny chicks at the edge of water.
    Adult stilt with reflection and water spray.
  • Two tiny birds in a bit of water, at a distance.

    Well, we seem to have our first chicks of the season: a couple of tiny Poaka | Pied Stilt. Photos are a bit fuzzy, thanks to the heat haze, I'm afraid. 🐦

    Single chick in the water.
    Two chicks on the bank, with swallows swooping around.
    Two chicks on the bank, with swallows swooping around.

  • Those Glossy ibis photos I took during the week … These are the images I kept in the end. A sliver of late sunlight helped. 🐦

    Large wading bird with red throat and long curved bill.
    Large wading bird with red throat and long curved bill.
    Large wading bird with red throat and long curved bill. Beak open.
    Large wading bird with red throat and long curved bill.

  • Poaka | Pied Stilt are very aggressive when it comes to defending a nest, and they seem to have a 100 metre radius for action. 🐦

    Pied Stilts are streamlined rockets in flight. When they want to warn you off they fly straight at your head and swerve only at the last second.

    Pied stilt in flight.
    Pied stilt in flight.

  • Tonight the light was better and I got smarter with camera settings so the Glossy ibis photos actually worked out. 🐦

    Last night's photos were disappointing.

    Here's just one for the moment.

    Large wading bird with russet and shiny green colouring and a very long curved beak.

  • Better photos from last evening were this Kuruwhengi | Australasian shoveler pair with chicks and Canada Goose with chicks. 🐦

    Goose, Shovelers, chicks on a lake.
    Goose, Shovelers, chicks on a lake.

    Unfortunately Canada Geese are a bit of a pest species round here. They certainly make a racket. There are loads of them locally.

  • I've been wanting to grab a photo of a Pahirini | Chaffinch for a while now. Finally one flew in while I was waving my camera around learning about settings. 🐦

    Sparrrow sized bird with red breast and white flashes on the wings, on a flax spear.

  • I set a couple (literally) of settings on the new X-T5 and went out to experiment. Focus was set for bird recognition. I'm thrilled with these shots. 🐦 πŸ“·

    Pied stilt in flight.
    Pied stilt in flight.
    NZ Dotterel.
    NZ Dotterel.
    Oystercatcher on nest.
    Oystercatcher on nest.
    Marvellous colours of the sea behind the dunes.
    Marvellous colours of the sea behind the dunes.

  • When I feed my friend's chooks there's an extra scoop for the doves. πŸ˜† 🐦

    Chooks eating from a trough, dove in background.
    Dove eating β€” closeup.

  • Haven't had one of these birds visit our garden before. I assume someone's pet canary found its freedom … 🐦

    Small yellow canary on grass.

  • The chooks were singing themselves to sleep when I went to tuck them in at sunset. 🐦

  • With that look I was glad to be on the other side of the wire today. 🐦

    Two hens face the camera with what seems to be malice in their looks. There is chicken wire between camera and hen.

  • Good morning! 🐦

    A dark red hen looks straight at the camera. A black hen, a shed and greenery are in the background.

  • This broken blue egg I found on the ground may have belonged to a song thrush perhaps? 🐦

    Blue egg on a gloved hand.

  • This blurry photo was the best I could do: two Warou | Welcome swallow eggs in a nest above the door of Deb's zendo. 🐦

    There was simply no space to get the iPhone further away.

    Two speckled eggs in a fluffy nest.

    Here's the mum back on 10 October 2023.

    Small orange and black bird on a nest in an enclosed space.

  • Kawau | Pied Shag flies off. 🐦

    Large shag with wings spread only just above the shallow sea, with waves rolling in.

  • Two Karoro | Black-backed gull. 🐦

    Two large black and white gulls stand side by side on sand.

  • The Poaka | Pied Stilt are so delicate and fragile looking. 🐦

    Black and white wading bird in shallow water.

  • I just love these birds — they're so cute. Weweia | New Zealand dabchick. 🐦

    Small dark waterbird, a grebe, with a beady eye.

  • At the lake today: duck and 6 ducklings! 😍 🐦

    On a lake: duck, side view, with 6 tiny ducklings nearby.

  • 5.30 am. The sleepy eye of dawn starts to open. The birds sing it into being. 🐦

    A sliver of light sky between dark land and dark cloud.

    Listen to the birds

← Newer Posts Older Posts β†’