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I think this little waxeye on the deck railing (and through the window) might have been a juvenile. π¦
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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! π¦
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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. π¦
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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. π¦
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Those Glossy ibis photos I took during the week … These are the images I kept in the end. A sliver of late sunlight helped. π¦
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Poaka | Pied Stilt are very aggressive when it comes to defending a nest, and they seem to have a 100 metre radius for action. π¦
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.
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Tonight the light was better and I got smarter with camera settings so the Glossy ibis photos actually worked out. π¦
Last night's photos were disappointing.
Here's just one for the moment.
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Better photos from last evening were this Kuruwhengi | Australasian shoveler pair with chicks and Canada Goose with chicks. π¦
Unfortunately Canada Geese are a bit of a pest species round here. They certainly make a racket. There are loads of them locally.
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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. π¦
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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. π¦ π·
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When I feed my friend's chooks there's an extra scoop for the doves. π π¦
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Haven't had one of these birds visit our garden before. I assume someone's pet canary found its freedom … π¦
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The chooks were singing themselves to sleep when I went to tuck them in at sunset. π¦
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With that look I was glad to be on the other side of the wire today. π¦
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Good morning! π¦
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This broken blue egg I found on the ground may have belonged to a song thrush perhaps? π¦
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This blurry photo was the best I could do: two Warou | Welcome swallow eggs in a nest above the door of Deb's zendo. π¦
There was simply no space to get the iPhone further away.
Here's the mum back on 10 October 2023.
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Kawau | Pied Shag flies off. π¦
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Two Karoro | Black-backed gull. π¦
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The Poaka | Pied Stilt are so delicate and fragile looking. π¦
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I just love these birds — they're so cute. Weweia | New Zealand dabchick. π¦
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At the lake today: duck and 6 ducklings! π π¦
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5.30 am. The sleepy eye of dawn starts to open. The birds sing it into being. π¦
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I did better with the TΕrea pango | Variable Oystercatcher, one of whom I see has been banded. π¦
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At the beach I spotted a couple of TΕ«turiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel. Between lifting my fitover sunnies and getting my camera out I lost them in the glare. Thus I have my first photo: Ceci n'est pas une Dotterel. π¦ π€£