Miraz Jordan

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.

A pair of Canada Geese on the lake. 🐦

Thanks to @cheri who drew my attention to this wonderful rap video a couple of weeks ago: Rock Wren for Bird of the Year. And look who won! Bird of the Year: Pīwauwau/ rock wren crowned as 2022 winner. 🐦

Photo: The pīwauwau / rock wren. Photo: CC BY 2.0 Andrew / Flickr.

Very uncomfortable topic for a cozy mystery, but I like this series and its characters who are very real: The Missing Pets Mystery (The Supermarket Mysteries Book 2) by Rachel Ward. 🐦

all is not well in the little town of Kingsleigh. Three cats have gone missing in a week.

Spring! Spotted today at the local pond, a duck with, I believe, 10 ducklings. Look at those little mites! 🐦

I love Welcome Swallows: they’re small, colourful, fast and generally cute. This one came to sit on our deck railing. Photos through a window. 🐦

Pleased with myself that today I checked my camera settings before getting click-happy on the shutter. This morning there were about 15 Kuaka feeding on the beach. 🐦