Assorted bird photos

I was having a sort out of photos lately as "he who knows about computers" has informed me that I have over 46 gigabytes of photos and that apparently is lots. Anyhoo I came across some pics I have taken in the last month or two that I quite like so I thought I'd share them.This is obviously just a sparrow but I like that I caught him just as he's taking off. Above is a juvenile white-faced heron. You can tell he's a young one because the white mask on his face has yet to develop properly. I think the appeal of this shot was the lovely reflections in the frog pond by the local skate bowl.I like this shot of a white fronted tern taken at Ohiwa Harbour mainly because of the position of the tail and wings. These birds have such black heads and eyes that the two blend together so that you can't make out the eyes at all. And they also have strangely small feet which is kinda weird.

Lastly, my favourite - a tui on a flax flower after a rain shower. His feathers are ruffled by a sudden gust of wind but he didn't seem to mind so much.

Birds of Paradise

I have another exhibition planned for the last week of January/first week of February at the NEXT DOOR GALLERY in Birkenhead, Auckland. This is a little diptych that will be included. Its made up of two ten inch by ten inch canvases featuring the male huia on the right and female on left. This was the only species in the world where the two sexes had different shaped beaks which is one of the reasons they were so sought after by collectors and hunted to extinction. I have called the paintings "Birds of Paradise" as they also include the bird of paradise flowers altho for me the huia was the true bird of paradise. I had to swipe the flowers I needed for reference from a local council garden....ssshhhh don't tell anyone!

A Birds Eye View

I know this blog is supposed to be about art and wildlife but now and then something special happens that I just have to share. Over the New Year period we had whole lot of family and friends come to stay so that our large back yard was turned into a camping ground. My sister and her hubby and kids plus friends the Inglis family came from Tauranga so along with my Mum and Dad we took them out to show them the tourist attractions in the area. After they did the maze made out of Maize in Otakiri we visited Julians Berry Farm for famous berry ice-creams and because Troy wanted to surprise my Dad with a helicopter flight. Well it turned out you needed two passengers to get the whole ten mins so before I knew it I also had a ticket! Now I'm not normally chicken...well actually I am when it comes to fast things with motors so I waited rather anxiously (wishing I could have a nervous pee!) for the helicopter to come back to pick us up. Before long we were strapped in and what a freaky feeling as we lifted off! But from then on it was very smooth and sedate and WHAT A VIEW! So check this out. These are pics of my home town. The Whakatane River, mudflats on the right where I photograph herons and such.
My Dad enjoying the view of the road to Kohi point and Otarawairere Bay.

The West End of beautiful Ohope Beach, Otarawairere Bay & the Whakatane Heads.

Whakatane West, Awatapu Lagoon, Landing Rd Bridge & Whakatane Board Mills.

By the end of the flight I wanted the pilot to fly really low so I could get a feel of how fast we were going but unfortunately aerobatics were forbidden but at least I had conquered my nerves. I can so reccomend this experience, the time up in the air is quite generous and the scenery is awesome. Thanks to Mark & Leeanne from Harbour City Helicopters for a brilliant day.

Jellyfish and the meaning of life

I was going thru some photos I took late in November and came across these jellyfish pics taken at Ohiwa Harbour. It was a still day and the water was like glass. All across the inlet you could see the backs of hundreds of jellyfish bobbing along on the surface like ethereal alien spacecraft.

I think they all ended up washed ashore and finally melted into shapeless pools of colourless slime. A bit like the human body drifting through the endless expanse of life till we wash ashore and return to the earth for the microbes to dissolve. Or at least would dissolve if we didn't pump our bodies full of chemicals to preserve us. When I go I want to go naturally and at least give a few worms some nutrition while I'm on my way out. But thats just me...

A Quail Tale

We have a resident pair of californian quail in the area. I often see the male perched up on a fencepost or similar perch keeping a lookout while the female feeds in the grass below.

She is rather drab in the manner of birds whilst he is a little dandy, with a smart checkered waistcoat and a feather in his cap. Hopefully we will see some young'uns one day soon. I once found a quails nest on a riverbank. I only discovered it because I nearly stepped on the Mum and she took off from almost under my foot. The babies were like furry bumblebees and not much bigger. I ran off to get my camera but when I returned I couldnt find the nest as it was just a tiny space way down in the long grass. I didn't risk looking for too long in case I put my clumsy foot on the chicks.

I took this photo out my dining room door one morning as the cocky little bugger was strolling by not more than six feet from Billy the Wonder Dog snoring in his basket. Handsome wee devil isn't he?