Exploring the Catlins – New Zealanders playing as tourists – part 1

While composing the first of three posts [too many photos for one] on this southern Otago coast-line what comes to mind is shipwrecks! This, because of spending an hour or two in the museum at Owaka, and if I recall correctly there have been dozens of them [an on-line search will easily bring up the… Continue reading Exploring the Catlins – New Zealanders playing as tourists – part 1

Rogue weather for a roadie from Central Otago to the Mckenzie Basin and back again via Dunedin – Wanaka Images and Photography

Up until a couple off months ago I’d not done much in the way of New Zealand native bird photography for awhile, so wanting to visit relatives on the east coast starting from Timaru then proceeding through Oamaru to Dunedin and as I’ve done before I hatched a plan to visit favourite inland places that… Continue reading Rogue weather for a roadie from Central Otago to the Mckenzie Basin and back again via Dunedin – Wanaka Images and Photography

Freddy the fearless NZ falcon, and an update on the status of native birds in the West Matukituki Valley

There are cautionary things to be learnt from being under a bird – things that can come back to haunt us from childhood: I was about four years old when hand-in-hand with my mother, like my hand in hers while my other held a flavoured and much savoured ice cream. All was good I recall,… Continue reading Freddy the fearless NZ falcon, and an update on the status of native birds in the West Matukituki Valley

Godwits in trouble on migration from New Zealand to breeding grounds in Alaska

Ecologist Rachel Hufton reports Many shorebird populations are in serious decline along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. The rapid loss of coastal wetlands (attributed to land reclamation) in the Yellow Sea, which provide critical stop-over/ re-fuelling sites for shorebirds during migration is believed to be the cause of this alarming trend. The Yalu Jiang coastal wetland,… Continue reading Godwits in trouble on migration from New Zealand to breeding grounds in Alaska

Birds call out 1080 silent forest claim – courtesy of Radio NZ

Forget the emotional 1080 debate I reckon – it’s a dead duck – the below opens up tremendous opportunities to save our native birds by allowing us to know more as to numbers and distribution. And something I learnt recently: our beech forests in the South Island and the kauri in North Island both rely… Continue reading Birds call out 1080 silent forest claim – courtesy of Radio NZ