Miraz Jordan

I have a lot to learn about taking photos of shags in trees. Just look at this dork though! 😆 🐦 Try zooming in.

Word's out about the railing! Today a Warou, Welcome Swallow, opted for the full photo shoot, even including the over-the-shoulder pose! 🐦

Because I was sitting quietly on a log, the Pied Stilt came closer, checking me out.

Pied Stilt, strutting her stuff. 🐦

Five quail eggs in a box. Four of them, as usual, weigh 11 grams. The other one weighs 15 grams! Last time this happened the larger one was a double-yolker. 🐦

I spotted this small yellowish-green bird on a flax spear but couldn’t make out what it was. I took a couple of photos through the window, but as soon as I opened the door for a better look it flew off. Greenfinch. 🐦

I really enjoyed Cold Deal (Kina McKevie Private Detective Book 1) by Lisa Ambrose. 📚 It kept me reading past bedtime. I hope the next in the series comes soon.

Kina McKevie is back in East London more than a decade after killing her abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend.

Update 03 October 2022: when I first noted this on my blog on 03 October 2021 the author was Lisa Ambrose. Now the book’s at a new URL with Laurence Moore listed as author.

Glee and Fliss, the Japanese Quail, are now back in their outdoor run. 🐦 They don’t care for change much so were very cautious and fluffed up to start with.

Canada geese flying at dusk.

Action at the bird feeder. Sparrows and Waxeyes. 🐦

Who knew sparrows had tongues!!!

I’m on a quest to take photos of all the birds we see round here. 🐦 I’m also longing for the rather costly 100-400mm zoom lens, but actually have a 50-230 — some birds I just can’t get closer to.

Success today with the Eurasian skylark which flies up to 100 metres high.

I was down at the lakes today, bracing against strong wind gusts, trying to get photos of the Australian Shovelers on the other side of the water. A couple of Mallard ducks flew off and I happened to get a decent shot of them in flight! 🐦

These photos stretch my 50-230mm lens.

They’re far from perfect but they beat any of my previous attempts to catch a hawk in flight by a mile. 🐦 I’m reading and learning from Dan Bailey’s book: X Series Unlimited.

Cuties from the deck this evening. Baby rabbits from a burrow in the paddock next door. Welcome Swallow, Warou, on the Zendo roof. 🐦 🐇

You have to watch out for the swallows: they build mud nests over doorways and light fittings, and in the garage if you leave the door open.

I only recently discovered the free Merlin Bird ID app and it works well (for photos, not so much sounds) even here in NZ. 🐦

users answer a few simple questions or, snap a picture and then [see] a short list of possibilities tailored to location and date.

I like it!

I already wrote a little about the Royal Albatross Centre, but wrapping up our recent holiday, here’s more. We viewed the birds from a hide, through glass. Several adults swooped right past the window and huge chicks were just outside. Older chicks weigh more than adults. 🐦

My two Japanese quail are clearly independent thinkers, having produced these first eggs of the season. Thing is, we have 10.5 hours of daylight today and they “shouldn’t” start laying till we have 12 hours daylight per day — ie late September. 🐦 🥚 Clever girls!

For the final adventure of our holiday we visited the Royal Albatross Centre on Otago Peninsula. 🐦

the only mainland breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatross (toroa) in the world.

The birds have a 3-metre wingspan. Chicks weigh ~10 Kg before they fly.

A big storm is forecast for this weekend — gales and loads of rain. Plus it’s midwinter and we’ve had some solid frosts and we’re going away soon for a holiday. Today I moved my two quail into the garage, using the dog crate to hold them. They’ll be warm, dry, out of the wind. 🐦

The little silvereyes sure do love the birdfood! 🐦

Well, all the smart birds were snugged up in their little beds while I was trying to watch for them today. Wind, rain, cold are not conducive to bird activity. I did see 1 hawk, 3 magpies and a black-backed gull. A group of 5 birds rocketed by so fast I couldn’t identify them. 🐦

We have some splendid Kāhu Swamp harrier around us. They soar past our lounge window, wings spread and sometimes sit on fence posts. Today I glanced out and saw one on a nearby post. I grabbed a couple of photos through the window, but when I opened the door it flew away. 😒 🐦

I’ve been meaning to clean up the quail run a bit. Today I scraped out some of the poop and old straw etc and added some fresh straw. I need to buy another bale of straw too. Last week I added plastic over the open part of the roof for winter rain protection. 🐦

I visited the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in Palmerston North. Amazing photos. Such dedication to the art (hours waiting for the perfect shot) and planning. Here are 2 favourites: Pallas’s cats and a spoon-billed sandpiper. 🐈 🐦

While driving past the lake at the end of our road today I was surprised to see our local black swan pair have 6 moderately large cygnets. That’s the first I knew about them having babies this year. Zoomed iPhone photo. 🐦