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… 🐦
Yay. Waikawa Blueberries is open again. Time for real fruit icecream, fresh blueberries and award winning olive oil. Yum!
A greeting to the day:
He kore, he kore
He pō, he pō
He ao, he ao
Takiri mai te ata
Korihi te manu
Tino awatea
Ka ao, ka ao
Ka awatea
Tihei Mouri Ora
From the nothingness (potential being)
Into the different stages of darkness
And finally into the world
As night turns into day
The birds sing
And daylight is here
Into the world
Into the daylight
And I/we are alive
Listen to me reading this in Māori.
Another good story and an enjoyable read. The Girl Who Lost Him (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 4) by Amy Vansant. 📚
I quite enjoyed The Sled Dog (The Sheridan County Mysteries Book 2) by Erin Lark Maples:
After the race, [Elizabeth] discovers an abandoned, injured dog and her family falls in love with their new foster pup.
But things aren’t that simple… 📚
Mystery lift sign in Montserrat, Spain. No people if the lift is already occupied by bats…?
Listening to the most excellent The Ink Spots: Swing High Swing Low. 🎶
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. 🐦
I’m so used to adding images to my blog posts by using Command 3 in MarsEdit I’ve had to write a Keyboard Maestro macro to use Command 3 to attach items to Apple Mail messages. I kept hitting the keystroke and ending up in a weird place in Mail. 😆
This kind of attention to detail and insistence on making things smooth and easy for the user is why Daniel Jalkut’s software is best-in-class. MarsEdit 5’s upgrade process:
- License screen shows existing license code.
- and adds it automatically on the web page.
Sasha, hanging out on the grass. 🐶
This is exactly why you should give MarsEdit a try: MarsEdit’s role as a blogger’s best friend
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From: MarsEdit 5: Microposting, Markdown Highlighting, and More!
swear words around the world … lack 'approximants' – sounds made by bringing our lips, teeth, hard palate or tongue close … without making contact … [it] makes them sound harsh, regardless of the language.
Most Swear Words Have a Common Feature, Even Across Different Languages
I’ve taken the extremely rare step of filing a dispute with my bank about the defective earbuds. Amazon have promised a refund when they receive the returned package (that I’m unable to send) but have failed to respond to my further queries.
I’ve spent hours trying to return faulty earbuds Amazon shipped me. I’ve driven 3 times to the Post Office, spent hours researching… I was about to pay today when I fell at the last hurdle. According to the PO worker earbuds themselves cannot be shipped by post. I give in. 😵💫
I heard these Kuihi Canada Geese coming way before I could see them.
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. 🐦
Take care for the Pied Stilt chicks
These baby birds are so hard to see they're at huge risk of being trampled, run over or grabbed by a dog.
Back in early November 2022 I almost stepped on a Poaka Pied Stilt nest not far from the blue pole that marks where the North Track off Reay Mackay Grove exits onto the beach. Luckily I saw it just in time.
The nest with 5 speckled eggs was just a scrape in the ground with a few bits of driftwood nearby.
The parent Stilts were fierce defenders of the nest, divebombing anyone who came anywhere near. They’re pretty scary, flying straight for you and only swerving at the very last moment!
Then at the start of December the nest was abandoned, one egg remaining. There was no sign of the parent birds nearby. We feared the worst.
That's when Corne Ferreira came along while volunteers were planting spinifex across the front of the Miratana block. He spent a while taking photos and when we chatted with him discovered he'd been watching 3 baby Pied Stilts in the wet sand near the bend of the river. He generously agreed to share his photos with us.
So precious! So hard to see!
These babies won’t be able to fly until the end of December:
Both adults incubate the 3-4 eggs, which hatch after c.25 days. The chicks leave the nest when dry, and can fly when 28-32 days old. The young are olive-brown to brown and downy with dark blotches on their backs, and white underneath. When hatched they are brooded by their parents but find their own food.
Will they survive the busiest time of the year on Waikawa Beach?
Originally posted on the now defunct Waikawa News, 06 December 2022. Amended slightly.
Thanks to the global Light pollution map I now know the sky where I live is almost as dark as it can get, at Class 2. On a clear night I can see the Clouds of Magellan with my naked eye. ⭐️
Wellington, OTOH, comes in at Class 6: bad.
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. 🐦
