Wild Folwers

Now is the time of year for wild flowers. Our road verges are one of the best places to view natures work. Many are classed as pest plants but they still look wonderful.

Bludgers in the bird world

An interesting observation this Sunday afternoon. Tui was chasing a Fantail out of the trees at the eastern end of the house. I growled at it and wandered off to return a bucket  to the garage and Tui arrived at the totara trees where last year  we had sparrows nesting. This year we discouraged them by removing the nests as they were building them,  as sparrows are really a nuisance around the house and the B&B.
As Tui flew into the tree a sparrow was clearly agitated and was trying to keep the Tui away. Looking up I saw a nest and was thinking it may belong to Tui.
It did not, and what I saw made me smile, one bludger taking from another.
Sparrows are known by most as the rats of the sky and will scrounge food from anywhere and are very hard on the stick insects. However,  they can eat all the cicadas they want as they do quite a bit of damage to the fruit trees in this area.
So back to Tui. Tui saw the nest of material that would obviously suit its nest and wound itself around the branch and stole a great beak load of material from sparrows nest.
Then the tenacious Sparrow chased off after Tui. I guess it was going to try and get the nest material back. Good luck Sparrow.

Our Wetland

This is our Wetland viewed from our lounge window. Especially in the morning we can hear Matata from the deck where I took this photo.

Pahi and the Kaipara Harbour

Toady we went to Pahi about an hour from Ngunguru to go on a boat trip on the Kaipara Harbour. At 11am we caught the Kewpie Too for a four hour trip into history. The Kaipara is a massive harbour on the West coast of Northland and was vital in earlier times for transport into and out of the region prior to rail and roads.

 The once timber lined hills are now pasture with small and a few larger tracts of bush. Still, it has a story, and it is one worth listening to as it is ingrained into so much of Northlands culture with its timber, transport and fishing history. Its is also very scenic

At Pahi there is a huge Mortan Bay Fig. Read below.



 



The New Season

Everything is happening at once. Kingfisher is nesting down by the road. The first fantail chicks were seen being fed by their parents this week as well as the first Gray Warbler chicks. They are right up beside our deck in the Kanuka trees. We again look forward to a summer of birds about us. Fantails have up to five clutches in one summer. The poor things. They get quite tatty by the end with all the hard work. Last summer a guest counted 15 fantails in a moment from the deck.

Ruapekepeka Pa

Northland is the beginning of New Zealands history. Soon after battles started between Maori tribes and not long after that, more battles erupted between Maori and the new settlers, the English. Ruapekapeka Pa and the nearby English fort is the last place in Northland of battle between the English and Maori.
"Ruapekapeka Pa Historic Reserve encompasses the pa, and advanced and main British positions from which the battle was fought. The ditch and bank defences of the pa are still visible along with one of Kawiti’s cannon and the well which supplied water to the defenders. The earthen defences of the advanced British position are also still visible."

This was the first Trench Warfare ever encountered by English forces. Google Ruapekapeka. It is a very interesting story.

 

 

All that aside. from the Pa is one of the most stunning views in Northland. One can see from coast to coast and for miles to the north.

At the South West end of the Pa at the top of the hill a track takes one to the huge ancient Puriri Tree. There is a grove of very old, very large puriri. This is a must see. One tree is 1.85m diameter and very tall for a Puriri. This and the rest are the largest I have seen and possibly the larget remaining. Definately pre human occupation.

A Grand Day Out

We took Sunday off and went for a drive and walk. Way out to the North West beyond time lies the Herekino Harbour. We don't know much about Northlands west coast so off we went to Herekino and its Harbour. It is 193Km from Ngunguru via Pipiwai Road and 180km via state highway 1 and 32km from Kaitaia.

The drive up via Pipiwai Road is very scenic though much of it is unsealed. Still worth the drive amongst the big hills forest and bush.

We drove to Herekino then took Owhata Road to its end about half way down the south side of the harbour then walked to the entrance by skirting the shore. This is easiest done with the tide down a bit as rocky parts would be difficult to traverse.
It is a beautiful isolated place.




Looking west to the entrance.

It is a small very clean sandy harbour

Round concretion boulders. These four

were interesting in that each one was quite

different to the next

The West Coast. Isolated and

beautiful on a calm day





East up the harbour to Mt Herekino









Pipiwharauroa has arrived

Pipiwharauroa (Shining Cuckoo) has arrived. It is in the trees above the house singing, singing.. "I am here, I have arrived safe after my 1000 mile (2510 Km) non stop flight from Vanuatu or the Soloman Islands. Where are you my mate." They fly back to the same site to lay their egg in a Gray Warblers nets every year. It is nice to know we saw this little fellow last year and probably the year before.

Of course the arrival means more than that to us. It means a change of weather and Spring is really here.
Pipiwharauroa will call until the end of December then go unheard until the next arrival. They depart for the tropics during April.

Seen it all before

We do repeat ourselves, don't we?
This time it is the Kumerahou in flower at our neighbours place. We have never seen such a patch of blooms before. Stunning!

 
The other is our little fantail friends. Every evening, as it cools off or starts to get colder one comes to the bird bath for a dip and a wash. It flits in  and out and flutters and shakes its self dry. For such small birds that are affected by the cold we are surprised that they wash at that time of day.

I also took a walk around my track along the Waiotoi Valley. Beautiful in the afternoon.

The Tutukaka Coast Loop Road

I have sold the first print run of my book, The Tutukaka Coast Loop Road, so now it is being reprinted. Fantastic!
Here is the text from the back cover: -
This 70 kilometre loop road from Whangarei returning via Hikurangi is one of the mostscenic roads in New Zealand. It doesn't have the South Islands mountains, rivers or lakes but what it does to see and do is different and very special.
This book is for you if you like bush, beached, boats and diving. It is all about nature.

 

 ISBN 978-0-473-22401-1

 

The 48 glossy paged book can be purchased from me, The Whangarei Tourist Informattion Centres, SaltAir Cafe at Ngunguru, The Tutukaka General Store and Dive Tutukaka for just $12.00.

Waves

The neat thing about seasons is that you get to see all the changes again and again. All the neat things. The changes are never exactly the same though. Its like watching waves on the ocean. They are all waves but all different to the next.
Kumerahou is in full bloom. It's yellow pompoms lighting up in different places this year but no less spaectacular. The leaf litter in the bush is full of hooded orchids of various kinds. Toropapa has finished but Kowhai and Clematis are colouring the bush. Birds are pairing up and claiming territory. Blackbird scraps are common. Tui is rocketing through the branches like a jet fighter claiming and defending his claim. They are bullys! Three Weta have moved into the weta house.
Warmer days now.

Last sunday, the 2nd September about 180 locals visited our beautiful sandspit  and walked its 2.7 km beach to celebrate one year in public ownership. It was a wonderful communal day out. Gray old day but everyone had fun. It is such a special place. We will be forever thankful to those that took up the battle to prevent it from being turned into yet another disaster of exclusive housing. Unless one has a boat it is difficult to get to.
There was even a dead 9 metre whale on the beach.
Wanganui Collegiate Hockey team enjoying the Sandspit. They were visiting Whangarei for a tournament.

Spring?

It has been wet...wet...wet!
We missed the worst as we went to Rarotonga for two weeks. That will have to be another blog.

This week we have noticed that the Kowhai are atarting to bloom. At Christmas we have the Puhutukawa in the northern part of New Zealand. This time of the year we have the Kowhai. Of course we have lots of flowering trees but these two are stunners. Spring starts to move in when the Kowhai flower. There is always something to count the seasons by. This tree is beside the Waiotoi River a few minutes walk from our house.

On our walk around the river thismorning we also saw several and heard many fern birds. More than ever before. Wonderful. Maybe we are making a difference with our pest control.

In the Hugh Crawford Reserve adjacent to us the fragrant Toropapa is still flowering. Wonderful.

News

Weta has found a new home and moved into the Weta House where she has started chewing holes in the manuka log.

Mingimingi has buds and we can smell its beautiful sweet smell in the warm.
Our little Toropapa is still flowering. Fantastic. It will be nice by our boardwalk.

Beware of Fantails!

They will waste your time, win your heart, and you will talk to them. However they will make you laugh and work with a smile, and brighten up the dullest winter day.
Long live Fantails.

Weta House

A few weeks ago I built a Weta House. I found this large Manuka log, cut about a 500mm length from it then cut it in half lengthways. After that I routered and drilled the interior with tunnels to the outside, added hinges so the front can swing open to view the Weta behind glass. I looked today and one large one was sitting in one of the entrance holes. Fantastic.

Bathing birds
In all my days I have not had the privilege of watching a fantail bath at a bird bath. Now twice I have watched the antics and it certainly is not a frequent occasion. Our bird bath has been used mostly by silver eyes and I reckon there must be a about six birds in there at a time and fantail has been on the edge getting the splashes. Other humans have only seen fantail more or less dipping their tails in the water.
I think the answer to this is that the water is mostly too deep for fantail and I have only seen them when the bath is mostly empty, they are after all quite small birds and a bath to suit bigger birds will not suit them. I only wish I could have got a photo but the camera battery was flat :-(

Collecting food at Rattys Landing is getting a tad nerve wracking. Twice now when collecting rhubarb I have disturbed a large WETA and it gives me quite a fright and this last one also got a fright and jumped out in my direction. Thank goodness I did not react too instantly and it did not come to harm from me. I cannot hold them when they are big and don't  like the idea one bit.

Oh yes this will make one smile, they are a good incentive to stop one drinking, one got into the house and was nicely settled on the neck of a bottle of wine in the downstairs cupboard. It quite stopped me in my reach, for that bottle anyway :-)

Toropapa

It is May again and our most fragrant native plant, the shub Toropapa, is in flower again. While working on the bush track around the Waiotoi River we found Toropapa with our noses from about 10 metres away. Fantastic.

Garden friend

It's certainly cooling down and my friend Piwakawaka(fantail) is back at the compost bin. It knows that large black bin is a source of food and especially when I go there to put food scrapes in and give it a stir. Flitting in my face this charming little bird eats plenty, it is sometimes waiting on one of its perches and cheeping its high pitched cheep. OPEN this bin it could be saying,(Hilton reckons they are sharpening their beaks) more likely its claiming the site for itself as when another Piwakawaka flies in it seems my friend hurries it off. Any way winter may be close by but there won't be any dull days with Piwakawaka in our lives at the compost bin.Its been a fantastic summer with travellers, all types of wonderful people to enlighten us about their countries.

On the other side its been wonderful to have many New Zealanders passing through, great to have them enjoying our lovely area of the country.
We go into Winter enjoying the company of the many birds that have been with us over the summer months, watching Silver eyes bathing at the bird bath, Thrush singing in the morning, Piwakawaka cheeping through the trees, Chaffinch doing his bit on the song scene and probably Tui doing their amazing flying through the Totara trees. Don't let Winter be dull.

The passing of summer

Autumn. That quiet time, that wild time

When Nature, unsure which season belongs

Opens a gay blue parasol

And runs her colours aloft.

A battle flag before a storm she knows she's lost.

Over the past couple of weeks the rain has defeated the cicadas. They have all but gone and the days are becoming quiet. The dawn is now starting with thrush having a warm up, getting his vocals ready for May when he will start singing his heart out from the tree tops. It is cool now too. Fine mornings are about 13 ~ 15 degrees with the day getting up to about 20 max. Some of the trees are changing colour and littering the ground with gold. We still have lots and lots of fantails and fernbirds to cheer us as winter approaches.

Melva continues gardening. Pumpkins are mostly harvested and the tomatoes are all but done. There is always a salad somewhere to be picked. There are a bunch of luffas hanging from a rope fence and more and more. The rhubarb is fantastic and has ben all summer.

Summer, so different to spring

Summer, so different to spring. It is quite hot now and dry. Cuckoo has finished calling. They have mated, laid their eggs in the hosts nests so no need for song. Now they just wait for the weather in April to return to the tropics. Kingfisher dive-bombs us as we walk past its squawking nest in the bank by the road. It shouldn’t be so stressed as we will not harm it. Matata have raised their families and now we have more than ever. The fantails have had a good year and so have most birds. The garden is a little late but going well with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, egg plant, pumpkins, salad plants, carrots, beet root, rats tail radishes, rhubarb and more. The early blackberries have almost finished and the late ones starting. The big sunflowers are fantastic and light the morning.

Hilton has been busy cutting and clearing the old track around the shore of the Waiotoi River. So far it is a half hour each way and it has about as far to go again. Total length will be about 1.2 km. The aim is to join with the road and track to the old mill and waterfall further up the valley. The green line is the track.

Summer and birds

On Saturday I stood in our wetland and had Matata (Fern bird) all around me. I now have lots of different calls recorded but their quiet clicking chatter is too quiet for my cell phone to pick up. Some were calling only 2m away from me.

Melva saw Tui feeding two large fledged chicks in the Kanuka by the deck. The parent was scraping honey dew from the Kanuka then feeding the chicks.

We now have Sparrows. This spring they moved into the nearby Totara trees nested and now there are a lot. They pick spiders from the eaves of our house. Melva caught one dashing a spiny stick insect to bits before eating it. I like stick insects. Sparrows are interesting but are becoming a bother.

Also a week ago in the damp quiet evening while we were sitting on the deck with friends and having a glass of wine and a chat we were entertained by the tweeting and aerobatics of at least a dozen fantails. We don't feed the birds but have then all about. It is wonderful.

Kingfisher has nested in the bank down by the road. It is full house judging by the squawking emitting from the hole. Soon that family will be flying about.

Mr and Mrs Quail have hatched a nest of seven chicks. On Saturday they were very small, thimble sizes balls with legs. So small in fact that we had to rescue one that had panicked, run for its life, only to get snagged in the head on a blackberry thorn and left hanging unable to free itself. Now the fight for life starts. They are so small that everything from hedgehogs, rats, weasels, stoats and pukeko want to eat them. Even a good prolonged shower of rain will kill them. With the aid of our trapping we are looking forward to seeing seven new adults. We have also just installed three new Sentinel possum traps. We now have seven traps altogether and about 10 rat bait stations.

Australasian Bittern

Tuesday evening while walking down the road through our property listening to Matata calling we disturbed an Australasian Bittern in the wetland by the road. Occasionally we see it in the area and sometimes two of them. Fantastic. They probably see us all the time but are so perfectly camouflaged that we almost never see them.

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The Ngunguru Wader Census and Ratty's Landing Ramble

We had a wonderful day today.

This morning the dedicated local group of birders counted waders and other birds around the north end of the Ngunguru Estuary and Sandspit. We do this on a regular basis. This is always good value and interesting. We were to have a picnic at the beach after the count but it was too windy so te crew came to Ratty's Landing and had the picnic on our deck where we talked of birds, nature, conservation etc over lunch.

This was followed by a ramble about our wetlands and adjoining property led by the very knowlegable Nan Pullman. She has really inspired us to know more about this great place we knew we had. The first stop was to proudly show our Matata (Fernbird) to the group. We discovered that we had a new family when they flew about in a small area immediately in front of the group with everyone getting a good view. Darling untrained performers. It was as if they knew the drill. We do know that we had at least six Matata. Now we must have eight in this small area.

Nan then led us about the wetland and into the bush on a journey of discovery into rushes, plants and trees.
It made our day.

Chris Buckley, Geologist, discovered that we have very interesting, and for this area, unusual clay in our road bank. More on that later when we know more about it.

This is what I like about living in one place for more than 6 months, we are getting to know this piece of land we are caring for and its great. Just last week Hilton found we had a Clematis growing in our bush. It is not far enough up into the canopy to be flowering but its a substantial vine so hopefully in a couple of years we will see the flowers out on the canopy.
Since living here we have been careful about what we remove in the way of vegetation as we are not always sure its a native so we let it flower and thats usually when we can tell if its a keeper or can make way for something that may normally live in or beside the bush. This mind set is proving to be a very good thing as we have some delightful finds. Like the Onion and Leek Orchids, quite insignificant plants and flowers but part of this land and its nice to see them very early spring popping up out of the seemingly inhospitable clay ground.
And  now we know its not just any old clay ground thanks to Chris Buckley.

Fantail chicks

Two weeks ago we noticed the first of the Fantail chicks. I could hear the tiny chatter of young chicks as I came up the walkway. Sure enough there in the Kanuka were four young chicks being fed by two adults. The chicks do not have the markings of the parents so are just dark heads and quite brown chests. Just so sweet.
But they are not able to handle cool weather.This day was cloudy enough for them to be crowding each other out on a branch. I had to smile, they reminded me of piglets trying to keep warm.  There is plenty of food for them but four chicks are a lot to feed. We have read that its usually the male that feeds the fledglings as the female starts to sit on another clutch, so we were interested to see two adults feeding these little guys.
Grey Warbler is also feeding chicks in the Kanuka, its all very busy with young birds around here.
We have noticed Green Finches this year. That is great to see as when we first moved here we did not see any. The trapping and baiting for rats is working. (sorry Ratty)

The last photo was taken on the walk to to the Tutukaka lighthouse. This chick and its siblings were being fed in a sunny spot on a cold day. To warm up they fanned their wiwngs out.

The vegetable garden is taking shape but some things are slow and today I discoverd the runner beans I planted early just rotted. Maybe they had got damp in the packet, but now I am several weeks behind.

Fantail chicks keeping warm





Tucker time



This chick was keeping warm on the lighthouse track



Pipiwharauroa

Shining Cuckoo (Maori name - Pipiwharauroa) arrived after its migratory flight from the tropics on September 17th. We can now hear several calling in the bush. They are a real summer sound for us. They will stop calling after Christmas then depart to the tropics in April. We never know when. Then we count the days until they return about the time that the Kumerahou blooms.