The Poaka | Pied Stilt are so delicate and fragile looking. 🐦
I just love these birds — they're so cute. Weweia | New Zealand dabchick. 🐦
I finished reading Murder: Take Two (Kansas Cozy Mysteries Book 4) by Charlene Weir. 📚
It was a pleasant enough read which made us familiar with the characters, but the solution was ultimately reached through an external source rather than through deduction or clues. That feels a bit of a cheat.
The app for charging our new EV after an ~170 Km return trip to Wellington shows last night's charge required ~2 Kg of CO2 emissions.
I found various figures for CO2 emissions for the 2016 Mazda CX-3 previously used for those commutes, but that car would have emitted ~27 Kg of CO2. 🚗
Excellent! —
Auckland Airport wildlife manager Lucy Hawley said the airport was a perfect place for the bird with high fencing around the perimeter keeping out predators.
"This is very attractive to nesting dotterels and our airfield's become a real sanctuary for them," Hawley said.
"These tiny little birds take absolutely no notice of the giant planes moving all around them and have no issues setting up home right beside the taxiways," she said.
Not my most favourite thing, to come home and find a controlled burn-off going on only a few hundred metres away. Luckily the wind is blowing towards the fire. I think the helicopter heard in the second video just happened by.
It's a lot of smoke.
Also, I'm keeping a very wary eye on it.
At the lake today: duck and 6 ducklings! 😍 🐦
We're starting to learn the fuel savings with our new MG 4 Essence 64 BEV. The commute previously would cost ~$150 per week in petrol. The 3 charges in the screenshot show that it needs about 30 kWh per charge. Actual cost is ~$5.25 per charge ($30 per week, screenshot costs are incorrect). 🚗
At the beach I spotted a couple of Tūturiwhatu | 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. 🐦 🤣
Just for kicks I drove up to the Lookout on Mt Victoria in Wellington. It reminded me of the absolute terror of driving that road — I used to drive it almost daily. Narrow — more or less one lane with cars parked, winding, loads of blind corners. 😱
Wellington and Harbour from Mt Vic Lookout.
In Wellington which is so loud and where parking breaks the bank. My annual eye test was fine, though my left eye has more floaters and the small cataract has been joined by a couple of friends.
Today's delight: two tiny ducklings on the lake. I believe these are native Tētē-moroiti | Grey teal 🐦 :
Length: 42 - 44 cm; Weight: 505 g (male); 470 g (female)
A small grey-brown teal with pale-edged body feathers, pale cheeks, chin and throat, crimson eyes, and a dark grey bill.
In 2005 they blew up and sank an old Navy ship off the south coast of Wellington to form an artificial reef.
Throwback to January 2005: cats in our Wellington garden. 🐈
We’re Searching for Our Bird of the Century 🐦:
Aotearoa New Zealand’s favourite election is back, and the stakes are higher than ever before. This year marks a whole century of Forest & Bird speaking up for nature.
Join us in celebrating our 100th birthday… But vote carefully... this year the winner is not just Bird of the Year, but Bird of the Century!
We finished watching Sex Education (TV series) and I was relieved that all the story lines were resolved without any really dark outcomes. 📺
What an excellent show! I particularly enjoyed the character development of Amy. Favourite actor / character: Maeve.
In my dream I was leaving a part of Waikawa Beach that had nightclubs, shops, restaurants, thinking: How weird I've lived here nearly 8 years and never found this area before.
The map above clarifies how tiny Waikawa Beach is. It also has zero shops, cafes or other commerce. 🤣