Spring and the start of summer are definitely with us this Labour Holiday Weekend, in spite of some patches of nasty cold weather this last few weeks. The grass is coming away, trees and bushes are in bud and bloom, and the birds - well, they are full into the 'silly season'.
I'm quite sure my decision to allow the back paddocks to go back into bush was the right one to make. And because of it, I am equally sure there are many more birds around the place.
Coming home from town a few days ago I caught sight of a couple of kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) perched on the power lines a little further down the hill. Most of our native birds are protected and I only hope human predators leave them alone. If you don't know about our Native NZ Pigeon, here is a detail from a painting I've done for the upcoming book, 'Taketakerau - The Millennium Tree":
Click here for more details about this book, due for publication in New Zealand in early December.
Yesterday I heard for the first time in ages the call of the native Kingfisher - (Halcyon sancta vagans) - the kotare. What joy - I haven't had one on here for years. And I've several times heard the characteristic 'wham' as a bunch of California Quail (Callipepla californica) takes off from the undergrowth into cover. Takes me back over 30 years to when I used to visit at Christmas. But they've been rather scarce lately.
The swallows who roost on the big beam in my carport (and make a huge mess on the concrete floor) have raised their first brood already, and it always amazes me how quickly these little balls of fluff take to the air. Already the whole family is scything its way through the ether above the concrete pad and the paddock below the house.
I'm sure I have more tuis (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) also. I don't often see these birds in full song - they normally give voice from somewhere up in the pines or the cryptomerias, but last week one was shouting his joy from a Coral Flame Tree in the back garden. He must have been taking nectar from the brilliant red flowers that are out right now, and he was sitting on the bare branches chortling and sneezing. Exactly the same actions and sounds (except no human words) as the late WoofWoof from the bird sanctuary in Whangarei - see video above.
The only birds I wish I didn't have are the Indian Mynahs. I wonder how many times this country has regretted importing them (and many other species). With the illustration job I've been doing, I didn't have time to block the holes they use for nesting up high in the a-frame cottage this year - after they've finished, I must get to that job!!
Patricia
http://patriciahowitt.com/
