The same little piwakawaka from Flounder Bay. Wildlife photos are overwhelmingly presented in colour, but since this bird has already figured in a couple of colour photos recently (here on the photoblog; another on Pohanginapete), I thought I'd try something less conventional.
I'd find it hard to tire of watching scenes like these. Another photo from Flounder Bay a couple of weeks ago.
Much of Rishikesh can seem like every stereotype of India: crowded, rowdy and cruddy. But stereotypes are generalisations and always have exceptions, and here, only a few minutes walk from that stereotype, one can find places like this. Although, it always pays to watch where one walks (someone didn't — possibly me).
The region of Gujarat near Bhuj is famous for its textiles. Here a weaver in a small village not far from Bhuj works his loom.
The paddock by Tokeawa stream, not far from my place. Based on a photo.
The Pohangina river at the edge of the Ruahine Forest Park. Piripiri stream joins the Pohangina at this point.
This young guy was minding buffalo and cattle among the arid, thorny Barda Hills near Kileshwar. February 2007.
Reel Earth, Aotearoa's Environmental Film Festival, is halfway through a fortnight of screenings. Last night Sandy Crichton presented his film Karearea: The Pine Falcon to a full house. If you missed it and are anywhere near Palmerston North, you have another chance to see it this Tuesday at 6 pm. Otherwise, watch out for it somewhere near you. It's brilliant.
White-faced herons (Egretta novaehollandiae; formerly Ardea novaehollandiae) are relatively recent arrivals in Aotearoa, breeding here first in the 1940s although they visited from Australia before then. They're now common throughout the country and are guaranteed sightings around the lagoon at Flounder Bay, where I photographed this bird. Although photographed in mid May, it's already in breeding plumage (note the plumes on the back and breast).
Evening at Flounder Bay where the lagoon debouches into the sea. That's Cape Kidnappers, perhaps best known for its colony of Australasian gannets (Sula bassana), in the distance. Flounder Bay lies within the greater curve of Hawke Bay.
Piwakawaka (fantails; Rhipidura fuliginosa) were everywhere at Flounder Bay and seemed utterly fearless. They're usually confiding, but on occasions I wondered whether I'd end up with one sitting on the lens.
The logjam in the lagoon at Flounder Bay is a favourite spot for whitefaced herons and shags. This heron has just launched off — I love the way the feet haven't yet settled into their usual streamlined, trailing position.
The track continues south from Driftwood Cove to the Cove of Giants. Who knows how long this great pine has lain here on the shore, polished by the sea and sand? Rather than rotting, it seems to be turning to stone.
There's something hypnotic about surf breaking, particularly on coastlines like this. One could watch until the light faded completely; watch the colours changing in the sky and reflecting in the water; one could enter a trance listening to the always-similar, never-the-same boom and roar. Driftwood Cove is a small beach just south of Flounder Bay.
I'm back. Thanks for the comments; I'll respond in the next day or so, as I get sorted.
Sometimes called flying foxes (for obvious reasons), fruit bats were common in the trees around the temple at Kileshwar.
This photo probably doesn't need any commentary... ;^)
Sometimes I feel the way this little fella looks. I suppose that's better than looking the way he (or she?) feels — but who knows what a tortoise thinks?
Oriental magpie robins (Copsychus saularis) differ taxonomically from New Zealand robins but it's easy to see the similarities—in both appearance and mannerisms. This is a female; males have stronger markings (Rajiv Lather has a beautiful photo of a male on the Birds of India site).
The common tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) is a small, delightful little bird that seems never to stay still long enough to photograph. I did manage a few photos of this wee individual at Kileshwar in February 2007. They build remarkable nests of leaves stitched together with fibre or spider silk to form an outer shell within which they construct a more conventional lining of woven grasses.
Khijidiya is a bird sanctuary on the coast of Gujarat not far north of Jamnagar. I'm not sure how well known it is, but it's a must-see if you intend visiting Gujarat and are keen on birds,. The 220 (roughly) species of birds recorded there include great white pelicans, several species of storks, common and demoiselle cranes, flamingoes, many types of waterfowl and ... well, you get the idea. Not just waterbirds, either: we saw francolins, the usual assortment of LBBs (and more potentially identifiable and spectacular land birds), and we were even lucky enough to spot a nightjar. And, if you can arrange to get there early, you get sights like this.
Glenn Colquhoun is one of Aotearoa's best-known and most appreciated poets, appealing to academics and general audiences alike. He's won numerous awards and is currently the 2009 Visiting Literary Artist at Massey University.
Early February 2007. At Mandvi on the coast of northern Gujarat, teams of workers still build wooden ships. Apart from the odd electric drill, all the tools I saw were hand tools: long, curved saws with wicked teeth; chisels, mallets. A block-and-tackle hooked up to a massive, roughly milled plank. Huge, hand-forged iron nails. In the early morning when dense mist still hung along the river, the partly silhouetted shapes looked like the lower jaws of giant, peg-toothed whales — the kind ancient cartographers used to draw in blank parts of their maps.
We've had some spectacular light lately, with squalls passing over, interspersed with sun. It never seems to feel as warm as it looks, though. The tree in the foreground is a magnolia, those behind are pines and macrocarpas.
We saw two pairs of these on Kapiti Island just over a week ago, but I photographed this bird a while ago on the eastern coast of Wellington harbour, south of Eastbourne. "Pango" is the Maori word for "black", but not all variable oystercatchers (Haematopus unicolor) have completely black plumage (hence the "variable"): some have white markings and superficially resemble South Island pied oystercatchers (SIPO) (Haematopus finschi). Both species of oystercatchers in New Zealand are endemic; the torea pango population, although small (about 4000 birds), is increasing, so the IUCN classifies it as "Least concern". 
One of the toutouwai on Wilkinson's Track, Kapiti Island. This was about as close as the lens would focus.
Looking South from Shorts Track after a cold night camped on the tops of the Ngamoko Range. The big trees are kaikawaka (Libocedrus bidwillii), the reddish shrubbery in the lower canopy is pepperwood (Pseudowintera colorata), the bright green is mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus). Various other species in there, too.
We'd searched earlier in the day with no success, and thought we'd miss seeing one of Kapiti Island's takahe. But shortly before the boat was to arrive, this bird appeared, feeding and stepping slowly in the long grass close to the track. This was one of the few photos I managed in which the bird's head wasn't partly obscured by grass leaves or stems. I suppose it adds context — they feed on grasses, holding them in one claw and shearing them with that massive bill — but unfortunately these aren't the native snow tussocks that form the natural food of takahe. They're introduced grasses.
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