Let’s start with an update on Lucy and Desi (and you should all know where those names come from), Stephen Barnard’s pair-bonded eagles who will soon produce a family. Stephen took two pictures and also supplied a caption that can apply to both:
“I’m outta here. See ya later.”
“Bring back a fish!”
Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, from Greek hali- = sea, aiētos = eagle , leuco- = white, cephalos = head)
Reader Elise sent photos from her trip to New Zealand:
These are from the gannet colony at Muriwai Beach west of Auckland. The [Australasian] gannets, Morus serrator, nest off Muriwai from August
through March while raising their young. There is more information here.
In the close-up picture you can see a couple of the youngsters:
The other bird picture I have attached is a sad one. Its a black billed seagull (Chroicocephalus bulleri) that has swallowed a piece of discarded fishing line. I’m not sure if it has swallowed a hook or not, but either way he was obviously not comfortable but there was nothing I could do for him. It serves as a reminder of how what we discard can affect wildlife.
The silver tree fern picture is from the Abel Tasman coastal walkway. I like this picture of the ferns (Cyathea dealbata) because you can see the developing fronds (or koru), as well as the green top of a developed frond, and the silver underside of another.
I have attached three landscape photos. The first is of Mount Ngauruhoe, a volcano in the middle of the north island which you pass while hiking the Tongariro Crossing. The day I took the photo was beautifully clear so you can see the unique colors on Ngaurahoe’s perfect cone very nicely. For any Lord of the Rings lovers out there, Ngauruhoe was used as Mt Doom in the movie series.
The other two are both kayaking photos from the south island. They were taken 10 days apart. The first is in Abel Tasman park, the second in Milford Sound. In the Milford Sound photo I love the contrast between the brightly colored kayak and the misty gray of the fjord. I also enjoy the contrast between the two photos, the first and last overnight stops on my south island road trip.
Last are two sunset photos I took in Auckland. One downtown in the harbor, the other from the top of Mt Eden (the tallest of the several volcanic cones in Auckland).
The Milford Sound kayak photo is superb–the mists and clouds over the mountains on the water must have been something else to see for real.
Yes indeed, the Milford Sound would be a lovely beach to spend the day lounging on a beach chair and umbrella and completing Sudoku puzzles, especially during the Southern hemisphere summer.
Dr. Coyne, the WEIT internet web site just continues to improve especially with the pictures and comments from your readers. Keep up the outstanding work.
“Lounging” isn’t really the thing in Milford Sound. After a small length of time you will be a) doing the tourist flappy-hand thing to ward off the sandflies (this is a design feature of Fiordland by the god Tu-te-raki-whanoa) OR b) dealing with the 5-6 metres of annual rainfall. And there is too much to take in than do Sudoku! Despite this, do spend some time there
The fern picture is really gorgeous!
I haven’t kayaked in so long (my yak is in the basement). I also have never been to the south island. One day, I’ll make another trip before the polar vortex kills us all & we end up living like characters in a Cormac McCarthy novel!
ʕ ·ᴥ·ʔ ʕ·ᴥ· ʔ
Aaiieee!! More baffling html magic! Soon we will be able to type in animated symbols that give off sounds and smells…
I see the photo of the distressed black-billed gull as emblematic of our appetites for fish and profits. Commercial fleet fishing will likely lead to the extinction of many species of albatross, petrels and other seabirds if we don’t take mitigation measures and implement improved monitoring of seabird kills.
17 of 22 species of albatross are threatened with extinction.
https://hsbrooker.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/wzealandposterlikelotr1200x900.jpg
I visited the gannet colony at Muriwai Beach in 2013 when they were hatching. It was very hot and the chicks were panting like crazy. Once I got a look at the place I decided to stop back that evening and early the next morning to catch some interesting light for filming. The difference between their clumsiness on the ground and grace in the air is stunning.
A small warning to those who will see this phenomenon: It smells pretty bad.
I had an experience like that when I had a chance to go snorkling with wild sea lions in Mexico. An amazing experience, but i was swimming in distinctly ‘organic’ smelling water which no doubt included plenty of urine and dissolved poo.
What we nature lovers won’t put up with!
😎
Is it just me or do Lucy and Dezi look a little healthier this year? Their white plumage seems a lot whiter than previous photos. Anyway, I’m happy to observe that they look to be in tip-top shape.
I hate seeing wildlife doomed by human activity. The gannet colony is encouraging though.
I’m glad we’re seeing more landscape photos as well. Today’s are terrific. Thanks Jerry for expanding your accepted photos of “wildlife”.
With Lucy and Desi, it’s probably just new feathers. Eagles don’t actually molt all their feathers each year, but they do spruce up for mating season. Also, the bare parts of birds–legs & feet, gape, cere–often become brighter in breeding season.
Looks like they have new head feathering, but weathered flight feathers.
Thanks for the clarification Diane.
Fantastic photos. Stephen Barnard’s are always good, and I’m proud to see my country looking its best in Elise’s pics.
Since 2013 the rather boring names of North Island and South Island now have the official alternatives of Te Ika a Maui, (the fish of Maui) for the North Island, and Te Wai Pounamu, (waters of greenstone) for the South Island. Actually North and South Island were never official (as in approved by the NZ Geographic Board which deals with such things)until the same date. Over the last decade or so alternative names have become much more common so the tallest mountain, Mt Cook is now also Aoraki.
I’m glad to see the Maori names coming back. The country is distinctly European now but the old culture shines through. For a tourist its a little harder to navigate sometimes, but still, I’m happy to see this integration and accommodation. One of my best travel experiences.
Nice pictures. Thank you!
Excellent photos. The plight of the black-billed gull is particularly distressing, but it’s a great reminder of the toll humanity can take on a species, and on an ecosystem as a whole. Black-billed gulls are endangered in their endemic home of New Zealand, due to many factors involving human encroachment, but arguably the biggest one is the introduction of predatory, small land mammals to the environment. Black-billed gulls evolved a somewhat unique ground nesting behaviour, often nesting in colonies near rivers, instead of offshore or on rocky cliffs like most of their Laridaean brethren. I really hope that species is able to be saved. Complete elimination of small mammals in NZ is probably impossible, but maybe some creative naturalists could develop some protective nesting areas for them. I hope.
Oh, where to start with New Zealand!
I am struck by the precisely even spacing of those gannets in their colony.
My gosh that’s thick line the poor black-billed gull has swallowed! Discarded fishing line is a huge problem all over. Some states are now placing containers for discarded line at prominent fishing spots, but I think that’s mostly in CA and rare even there. I once dissected a Barn Swallow nest and found 8 feet of thin line woven into the nest somehow. (More like “stucco-ed in,” actually.)
That fern shot is fascinating!
And all your landscape shots are most evocative. Thank you for submitting these, Elise!
Lucky you to be in NZ! Thanks for sharing the photos.