The Ngunguru Sandspit Reserve - Pi Manu

On Saturday we were invited by Forest and Bird to go on an orchid hunt on the sand spit. We did find two species; an onion orchid and one other. Also found a comb fern. No photos.
I did, however take a few shots of the reserve for interests sake. It is a wonderful wilderness.

New finds in the Hugh Crawford

Well, new to us anyway. Last weekend we explored the bush with a friend with knowledge of our native orchids. With over 160 species of native orchids it is not surprising that we found a few. All this only a couple of hundred meters from our door.

We also found a Dracophyllum. These are very rare in our area. See the bottom for photos.

Hooded Orchid

Orchid - Acianthus sinclairii

Spider Orchid - Corybas trilobus

Singularybas Oblongus

Singularybas Oblongus

Singularybas Oblongus

Dracophyllum sinclairii

Dracophyllum sinclairii

Kiwi. There is always a new discovery at The Riverbank

A friend spotted a newly dug hole in the Hugh Crawford Reserve. We returned with our Trail Camera and caught the following. Kiwi is having a thorough investigation of the hole. Sadly in the camera was moved so missed the hole which is on the far right. The camera will be put back for further investigation. We have been hearing male and female calling frequently.

cordyline

A few weeks ago while crashing through the Hugh Crawford Reserve I came across this cordyline. It is one of the largest I have found in the area. I took this photo with my phone. Whatever I do it will not stand upright. Sorry about that.

Everything is not all the same

Kumerahou buds

After checking baits and traps this morning we walked through the Hugh Crawford reserve to check our trail camera that we installed last week after a friend spotted a hole and tunnel in the ground that had been freshly worked. We now have three videos of a kiwi. Not downloaded yet. We will leave the camera a while longer to see what happens. Fantastic. We have been hearing Kiwi call most nights through July and August.

Clematis

Yes, definitely everything is not all the same. On our walk we noted that clematis, kowhai, mingimingi and alseuosmia are all blooming. The alseuosmia, some with pink flowers but most with green or white, are going crazy. It is the best bloom we have seen. Looking forward to a technology catch-up when I can blog its wonderful perfume that is saturating the bush.  http://techland.time.com/2012/10/17/new-app-sends-smells-via-iphone/ . Mairahou and kumerahou are budding up well too. Manuka has been flowering for a while in preperation for it's maximum bloom in November. Even mamaku looks happy with its koru. It will soon be summer.
I have said all this before in other years but every year is different. I do recommend a stroll through the Hugh Crawford right now just to smell the alseuosmia. If you don't know what to look for call in and ask. We will show you.

Clematis

Mamaku koru

Bittern! Exciting

Here is an Australasian Bittern our trail camera caught right beside our wetland boardwalk. Very exciting.

Bananas

Come on bananas! We had five bunches of bananas start forming in late summer. Now we have to wait through this cold winter for of them to fully mature before they can be cut. Still... looking good though.we like bananas? Yes!

Two Weeks - Five Videos on our Trail Camera

Surprise, surprise! We have four Pateke chicks withe their parents in our wetland. We have not seen them but our camera has.

The Fifth video was of Matuku-Moana  (White Faced Heron).

Clematis is Flowering

We planted Clematis Paniculata seeds in pots about six years ago. When large enough they were planted out atthe edge of our bush. They are now starting to flower for the first time. Fantastic. We look forward to this beautiful native creeper climbing and flowering over the bush canopy.

cordyline

Today while weeding self set pine trees in the Hugh Crawford DOC reserve I came across this cordyline banksii. It is the tallest I have seen around here at about two metres. There are many small ones up to 600mm high but this seems unusual.

Tomtit visited me while I was there. It was quite wonderful working away with the perfumed alseuosmia all about. It seem like an extraordinary year for flowering. The scent completely fills the air.

Pi Manu - The Ngunguru Sandspit

It was a stunning day today on the Ngunguru Sandspit.  Two to three times a year we have the privilege of counting shorebirds there for The Ngunguru Sandspit  Protection Society and Birds New Zealand. (OSNZ). Views south to the Horahora River mouth and Pataua. What a wonderful place the Tutukaka Coast is. You too can visit this beach if you come to the Tutukaka Coast Winter Festival

The Waiotoi Track - Alseuosmia Banksii Tree Fungi

This Alseuosmia Banksii on the Waiotoi Track is in full bloom. It has more flowers than we have seen before. The flowers are wonderfully fragrant. It is easy to find as its perfume permeates the air for 20 metres along the track.

This shrub is particularly tall at 2.28m.

I also found this large fungi. It is about 120mm tall and quite solid

It's All About Monarchs

It is super late in the Monarch Butterfly season and we still have caterpillars! We have taken quite a few into our warm lounge along with a bunch of swan plant branches for food. We then had caterpillars marching around the lounge looking for a place to settle to chrysalis. Two even chose the lounge ceiling as a place to hang.

The end result is that we have released a number of beautiful Monarchs back to the wilds.
It is a tough life for them now that we have that little black wasp that eats the eggs and caterpillars earlier in the season but not apparently this late. The South African Preying Mantis also has a voracious appetite for caterpillars.

End result we have caterpillars and butterflies at last. Wonderful!