Today Judi spotted a clump of flowering clematis below the house. Jude H also saw some up at number 5. Clematis seems to herald the start of spring in the forest. It gives the same warm feeling as frolicking lambs and daffodils! A couple of warm and sunny weeks have resulted in a burst of growth from the shrub layer with the olearias, five fingers and so on all showing fresh new growth.
Bird activity has increased with plenty of tui, kereru, fantail, grey warbler, tomtit, silvereye and bellbird activity. Kingfisher have returned to the forest and californian quail have been calling from the gorse paddocks. Rosella have been noisy. Most days harriers have been displaying high over the forest. It is usually their calls that attract attention but once located their slow motion flight with swooping dives is visually spectacular.
The large number of stoats trapped this month has given the harriers an easy source of food. They seem to be able to locate the dead animals although I am unsure if they are overturning the traps to get at them. Whilst it is good that we are catching stoats it does suggest that they must be numerous through the estate which is depressing. We have caught a few possums near the house although we have not seen a lot when driving through the estate at night.
Judi and I went up to Stony Bay on the 19th. There were NZ dotterel in most bays with more than 40 birds at Colville Bay. Nearby was a fully albino Oystercatcher with bright white plumage, pink legs and a red eye. It was very striking contrasting with other roosting variable oystercatchers. I am uncertain whether full albinism is frequent in oystercatchers. Other interesting birds were a sizeable flock of about 40 pateke (brown teal) loafing at the mouth of the Umangawha Stream in the bay.
We have received the estate kiwi report from Patrick Stewart so once I have reviewed this I will circulate the highlights via this blog.
Tuesday 30 August 2011
Monday 15 August 2011
winter at mahakirau
After three months in the northern hemisphere we are settled back into the forest. We had a week of fine weather but now we are caught in the polar blast that has brought snow to most of the country. We actually had a sleet shower yesterday and awoke to the first real frost we have experienced up here. The thermometer read -2 at 8.00 this morning and it still feels cold despite sunshine for much of the day.
I spent one evening last week with Patrick Stewart listening for kiwi - without success. However he had heard a male from the 309 which was almost certainly 'Shirley's' bird. In fact Shirley heard it calling the next night so it appears that there are at least two males on the estate with the other near to Sebastian and Karen's.
When the weather was warm and sunny last week the birds were active with several Kereru, Tui, Tomtit and Bellbird around the house. Two pairs of swallow were prospecting in the carport and flocks of silvereye were in the fivefinger. With this bitter weather it is difficult to know what insects the fantails and grey warbler are finding to feed on. A few morepork have been calling at night and harriers have been quartering the paddock and road edges during the day.
Two white goats worked their way through the estate from the hillside beyond Tim and Jude's via the road to the ridge at Harolds. At least two pigs were in the gorse paddock last week. Other animal activity has been limited to a trapped stoat providing sustenance to a harrier and two possums caught by the house.
We spotted the first of the native clematis flowering on a warm slope above the pohutakawa coast but don't expect it on the estate for a few weeks yet.
Hopefully we will have more to report once the weather warms a little and plants begin to flower.
I spent one evening last week with Patrick Stewart listening for kiwi - without success. However he had heard a male from the 309 which was almost certainly 'Shirley's' bird. In fact Shirley heard it calling the next night so it appears that there are at least two males on the estate with the other near to Sebastian and Karen's.
When the weather was warm and sunny last week the birds were active with several Kereru, Tui, Tomtit and Bellbird around the house. Two pairs of swallow were prospecting in the carport and flocks of silvereye were in the fivefinger. With this bitter weather it is difficult to know what insects the fantails and grey warbler are finding to feed on. A few morepork have been calling at night and harriers have been quartering the paddock and road edges during the day.
Two white goats worked their way through the estate from the hillside beyond Tim and Jude's via the road to the ridge at Harolds. At least two pigs were in the gorse paddock last week. Other animal activity has been limited to a trapped stoat providing sustenance to a harrier and two possums caught by the house.
We spotted the first of the native clematis flowering on a warm slope above the pohutakawa coast but don't expect it on the estate for a few weeks yet.
Hopefully we will have more to report once the weather warms a little and plants begin to flower.
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