A Bird in the Hand

I heard a thump against the lounge window on Saturday morning and Troy informed me a kingfisher had just killed itself by flying into the glass. I ran outside and sure enough, a fat blue kingfisher lay motionless on the grass. After picking it up I noticed small movements as its body twitched so I took it inside to find a cardboard box where I could create a quiet dark space for him. I was thinking I would come back later and find it dead but suddenly it righted itself in my hand. Outside Troy photographed him on my hand as he made a slow but steady recovery.

Finally I put him on a post and we left him to his own devices. Half an hour later I went back to check on him and he flew up into the wattle tree where he glared at me!After some research I came to the conclusion that he was just a young bird, about six weeks old. A happy ending luckily and some beautiful photos..... the perfect subject for my next painting!

Heron scuffle

One morning last week I visited my usual haunt on the riverbank. Most mornings there are a pair of herons perched on the yacht club or feeding nearby however today there was only one and it appeared very agitated. After about fifteen minutes another heron turned up and they had a brief scuffle in the airspace over the clubrooms. One gave up and was chased southward til I lost sight of them both.

On my next visit a couple of days later all was back to normal with "Mr & Mrs Heron" reinstated to their usual abode. Shame it was overcast or my pics may have been better.

One-Winged seagull

Its amazing how adaptable birds can be. I've often seen seagulls that have a broken or twisted leg or even have a foot missing. They don't seem to feel sorry for themselves, they just get on with their daily lives and make do the best they can. But yesterday morning at the Whakatane rivermouth I saw a seagull unlike any bird I've ever seen before. I noticed its erratic flight and i was surprised to see as it got closer that it only had one wing! I only had time to take this one shot but it turned out pretty good. Weird how it could even manage to fly -an incredible survival story!

My Newest Painting - Fantail & Fob Watch

I picked my latest painting up from Jos's framing yesterday. Today it went on the courier to an Auckland Gallery who have lined up a prospective buyer. Strangely enough, while it was in the framers a real fantail flew in and spent a considerable amount of time flitting around the premises. According to Jos it perched on a chain the light hung from as if mimicking my painting. Hmmmm spooky!

The Falcon face to face.

On Friday I finally got up close and personal with the falcon. Mum and I had gone over the fence onto the river edge to look for it as the doves were circling and the tui was making its alarm call. Suddenly it shot along below the stopbank then turned and headed straight for me. It saw me so did a sudden u-turn and landed back on top of the stopbank. After a few moments it flew back along in front of us then up to perch on Mum and Dads back fence. I was able to get to about twenty feet away to take these photos as falcons are naturally quite bold around humans. This bird is in lovely condition and I am guessing from its size that it is a female as they are quite a bit larger than the males. Of course its difficult to tell without having another to compare it with but I'm guessing she's a she.
When the falcon relaxed she closed up her right eye which made me suspect there was something wrong with it. The low sun was coming in from her left so she wasn't just squinting in the sun. And in the front on shot it looks a little different to the other... Perhaps thats why she's after the easy to catch doves.

Apart from the eye she looks in great condition. Her feathers have a lovely bloom. Such impressive tallons! She flew off after a while no doubt still after some dinner while we had fish and chips on the stopbank. A perfect end to the day.