Beautiful Crane Fly

Found this fellow on the boatshed door.
We have not been able to name it yet even though we often see them.

It has been a great year for Clematis at our place

Mingimingi

I so wish I could post the beautiful sweet Mingimingi perfume along with the photo. It is all down our roadside.

Pineapple

Here is our first ever pineapple grown at The Riverbank. We now have Pineapple, Taro (Dalo), Banana, Tropical Apricot. Getting tropical in the North.

Fungi are Fun

Fungi come in a myriad of shapes, sizes, textures and colours.
This one is on our section by the bush on a twig.

Wood Ear Fungi

Wood Ear Fungi (Auricularia cornea) in the Hugh Crawford DOC Reserve, Ngunguru. I like the way I can see clouds and a blue sky on the shiny surface.

Spiders - True Artists

These lovely orb webs are just off our deck in the kanuka.

Spotless Crake - They are such shy pretty birds. Always in a hurry.

Early Morning Spider Web

Early Morning Spider Web - Love the colours.

Praying Mantis Eats Wasp

This South African Praying Mantis is eating a live imported wasp on our balcony. Not fond of either of these insects. The wasps destroy our Monarchs and the Praying Mantis eats everything including our native Praying Mantis.

Hugh Crawford Reserve Kiwi

Every Saturday we visit our camera at this burrow and almost every week Kiwi makes our day with a visit..

This time kiwi enters the burrow, exits then does a bit of preening before going off foraging for grubs.

or visit https://youtu.be/ZOTQg_TFYs4

Australasian Bittern

We had a lovely long visit from the Bittern on the 5th March. This video was recorded by trail camera off our boardwalk.
https://youtu.be/Ph2nrcTa4MM

Never Ending Happenings at The Riverbank

Here we have an avalanche of Pukeko into the wetland pond.

And what is this rat doing! Fortyseven trips across the pond in three and a quarter hours carrying dry pampas for nest building, I assume.

 

These Banded Rail Chicks are old enough to fend for themselves.

It's a Good Year For Banana

Here are two of our seven bunches. Looking great. Cut a large one today.

 

Taro From Our Garden

Taro From Our Garden.
Rel nice and tender to eat. At last we don't have to go to Nasasobu to get good Dalo.

Every live thing gets its photo taken

Here we have a Solver Orb Web Spider. It was making its home by the wall of the house before being removed to the bush where it should be. Quite lovely.

Four Banded Rail Chicks in our Wetland

Four Banded Rail Chicks in our Wetland. Look closely to the right near the rushes for the fourth chicks brief view. This is taken near our Old Mill Ln boardwalk. We have previously only seen one at a time.

https://youtu.be/nnx61vTMMO4