North-east from Toka

At the tarns just below Toka trig we enjoyed the view, ate a few snacks, and tried to stay warm. Sometimes the cloud closed in, enveloping us in mist, but within a few minutes the view opened up again. Finally the cloud dispersed, lingering only further north along the range around the Oroua headwaters. None of us was in a hurry to begin the descent down Knights track, where we'd no longer be able to look down into the headwaters of the Pohangina. Even now, two days later, I miss that place.


[26 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 12–40mm f/2.8 at 17mm, ISO 200, 1/500 at f/8]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

A good trip in the Ruahine

On Thursday I walked over the Ngamoko Range and met a couple of friends at Leon Kinvig hut in the headwaters of the Pohangina river. The following day we sheltered from ferocious winds; visited the river, where we enjoyed several visits from a pair of whio; and tried not to think too hard about the crossing of the range in the morning. Towards evening the wind eased a little. Then the rain started, bringing with it the possibility of not being able to cross the river.

But the rain stopped, and by morning the cloud had broken and the wind had abated to little more than a slight breeze. On the tops, light cloud came and went, and the crossing proved straightforward. Here, I think John's expression says more than enough.


[26 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 12-40mm f/2.8 at 17mm, ISO 200, 1/500 at f/8]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Eleven-spotted lady beetle

These little ladybirds aren't native to Aotearoa; they were introduced in the nineteenth century as a biological control for aphids. They're common around my house, which they seem to use as a shelter over the winter — they often drop out when I open a window.


[21 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 60mm f/2.8 macro + 26mm extension rings, ISO 200, 1/200 at f/8; diffused flash]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Miromiro, No. 1 Line

On the way down the No. 1 Line track late this afternoon, this little female miromiro (North Island tomtit) flitted around, apparently giving me the once over. Of course, I had the macro lens on the camera — the 100-300 was safely tucked away in the pack. Consequently, this photograph is heavily cropped.


[20 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 60mm f/2.8 macro , ISO 200, 1/30 at f/2.8]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Orange pore fungus

The orange pore fungus, Favolaschia calocera, is apparently a recent arrival to New Zealand but is now widespread and considered a weed species in native forests. It's certainly not hard to find growing on fallen branches along the No. 1 Line track, which is where I photographed these fruiting bodies this afternoon.


[18 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 60mm f/2.8 macro , ISO 200, 0.6s at f/8]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Blood moon, Pohangina valley

About an hour and a half ago I tried photographing the so-called 'blood moon' — the moon just before tonight's lunar eclipse. Apparently much of New Zealand won't get to see it because of extensive cloud, but here in the valley we've been lucky: the sky's almost cloudless, alive with stars. I tried photographing the moon and quickly realised the difficulty — the exposure had to be short to prevent the motion of the moon and stars from blurring them, but of course there's little light (it is night, after all!).

This was the best I could do.


[15 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, Panasonic Lumix 100–300mm at 300mm, ISO 1600, 1/2s at f5.6]


All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Red leaf

No question that autumn's here now. Days shortening, stags still roaring, fungi erupting — and this.


[12 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 12–40mm f/2.8 at 40mm, ISO 200, 1/13 at f/8]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Common wasp (again)

I'm a bit short of time and photographs, so I'm afraid you'll have to put up with another photograph of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) from No. 1 Line last week.


[5 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 60mm f/2.8 macro, ISO 200, 1/200 at f/8; diffused flash]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

New Zealand has two species of introduced wasps in the family Vespidae: the German wasp (Vespula germanica) and the more recently-arrived Common wasp (V. vulgaris). Most of the vespid wasps I see around here — at least those I can get close enough to to identify — are Common wasps (here's a photograph from a couple of weeks ago). I photographed this one yesterday low down on the No. 1 Line track. I'm not sure what it was doing. At first I thought it was collecting chewed-up wood for its nest, but this proved wrong. Nor did it seem to be foraging, although it was moving around a little and not just sitting there, resting.

Being on the trunk of a small tree, it offered me a fairly rare chance to get a good angle on its face. That anchor-shaped black mark between the antennae and jaws is one of the diagnostic features that distinguish it from the otherwise very similar German wasp.


[5 April 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 60mm f/2.8 macro , ISO 200, 1/200 at f/8; diffused flash]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Antlers at dusk

This afternoon I climbed the No. 1 Line track again and sat in the late sun, scribbling and listening to several unseen stags roaring. Two were distant but clearly somewhere in the headwaters; the third, though, roared sporadically from just across the gully. I searched perfunctorily with the 10x42s but had no chance of seeing him through the dense canopy; the only hope was if he'd ventured onto one of the small, semi-open slips but that didn't happen. I didn't mind not seeing him; just hearing him roar was good enough.

Back home, the bigger of the stags has been roaring consistently for about a week now. Before the month's out the roar will almost certainly be over, not just on the farms but in the hills as well, and the wild stags will revert to their usual wary way of life. They'll retain their antlers through the winter then, in late spring or early summer, shed them as they start growing a new set.

These two sets of antlers hang next to where I park my car. So far I haven't walked into them. The big set is from one of the red stags who used to live here; the smaller set is from a wild fallow.


[22 March 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 12–40mm f/4, ISO 1600, 1/8 at f/2.8]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Torea pango — variable oystercatcher

Among the few successful photographs I managed last weekend, this is one of my favourites, not because of any particular photographic merit but simply because I love these birds.


[30 March 2014, Olympus OM-D EM-1, Panasonic 100–300mm at 300mm, ISO 400, 1/640 at f5.6]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor