Miraz Jordan

A pair of Eastern Rosellas has been taunting me for weeks now. Today I finally “caught” them. 🐦

A neighbour called and said she was watching the Matuku-hūrepo | Australasian bittern nearby so I rushed down to join her. My first time seeing this extremely rare and cryptic bird. 🐦

Status: Native, Nationally Critical

Bitterns are extremely cryptic and rarely seen.

This Matuku moana | White-faced heron saw me watching and kindly fished up something out of the lake for me. 🐦

I’m so ‘something’ that my neighbour has now seen the extremely cryptic and Nationally Critical Matuku-hūrepo, Australasian Bittern at our local lake 3 times, yet I haven’t seen it even once. She gave me permission to post her 2 iPhone photos from a couple of days ago. 🐦

I missed the focus on this but still wanted to post this adult and two baby Oystercatchers. 🐦

This rather ruffled looking baby bird stumbled across the deck and took refuge in the passionfruit. 🐦

Like mother like daughter — Oystercatcher adult and chick. 🐦

For the first time ever I tried recording video with my Fuji X-T2. This shifty looking character is either a South Island Pied Oystercatcher or a hybrid with the regular all-black Tōrea pango Variable Oystercatcher 🐦

Mōrena. Welcome to 2023. Pahirini Chaffinch 🐦.

Today I cleaned the used straw and shavings out of the quail run and gave the girls a fresh deep layer of bedding. 🐦

Oystercatcher: Ah yeah, gidday. Just sitting on my nest. You? 🐦

The Yellowhammers are singing a lot these days. This one was singing just by the house. Photo from January this year. 🐦

This is such a bird-filled time of year. All the birds come and sit on the flaxes by the house. This Kōurarini European goldfinch was just outside the window… 🐦

I heard a noise this morning I couldn’t quite make out. I thought maybe it was a hawk but it was too close and repeated too often without moving. Turned out it was this lovely Tikaokao California quail on the mulch pile by the front door. 🐦

Folks, you might like to see Take care for the Pied Stilt chicks about the baby birds currently trying to survive on our beach. Includes fantastic photos by Corne Ferreira, a visitor I was chatting to the other day. Location: Waikawa Beach, Horowhenua, Aotearoa New Zealand. 🐦

The other morning on the beach I spotted a group of Kuaka Godwit doing their thing then realised one bird looked quite different. I believe this is a Ruddy turnstone — I haven’t spotted them around here before. Second photo shows Kuaka for comparison. 🐦

Thrilled with this photo from my beach walk today: Kuaka Godwit. 🐦

I have supervisors. A couple of little Warou, Welcome swallow spend the day sitting on the rail by the lounge. Such cuties! 🐦

And for today’s yoga session we have a simple little neck twist with head tuck. 🐦

While one Kāhu | Hawk was flying around, another was relaxing on a fencepost. 🐦

With the flax spears opening Tūī | Tui are visiting to feed. 🐦

I’m outta here! 🐦

One of the quirks of halving a recipe is ending up needing half an egg. Luckily, as I have Japanese Quail, this is no problem. 4 quail eggs ‘equal’ a hen’s egg, ergo 2 quail eggs do just fine. Lemon Butter Biscuits. 🐦

Those eggs I saw on the beach the other day weren’t from an Oystercatcher, but rather this dedicated gorgeous Pied Stilt.

Such delicate creatures with such long legs! 🐦

I nearly stepped on this clutch of 5 Oystercatcher eggs on the beach. The birds lay them in the sand near a bit of driftwood. I was actually looking for a suspected nest further away and almost didn’t see this. 🐦

Update, 07 November 2022: My friend Stephen discovered a Pied Stilt sitting on these eggs, rather than an Oystercatcher.