Wednesday, 28 January 2015

Bruce My Big Blue Buddy

Last Friday while I was sitting on the Wellington waterfront I had a friend come visit me. From what I understand he is a blue shark and possibly an older juvenile. Needless to say he gave me a rather large fright when he suddenly appeared right in front of me. 


Blue sharks usually like the clear deep blue water but this guy seemed pretty happy cruising the shore line. I wonder if the beautiful hot weather has brought him out.It appeared that he had been caught in a line at some point as you could see some fishing line trailing down his body from his mouth. He's made multiple appearances in the days since, and some people even managed to cut the line that was attached to the hook. 


On Monday I went back out, with my camera at the ready to see if he would make another appearance. Low and behold he popped up and I managed to get a few photos, people then followed him down the waterfront as he drifted along. Last night he was on the national news and he's also been featured in the paper.

Our World Tuesday
Water World Wednesday
Outdoor Wednesday
Skywatch Friday
Saturday's Critters

Monday, 19 January 2015

Flying Fish



Just before Christmas my dad and nephew went fishing an caught some gurnard, this specific type is the Pacific Red Gurnard and can be found around New Zealand and Australia.

 
Along with these wings, which help to give the fish an appearance of flying, gurnard have little fins, or walkers which help to scare pray out into the open. These fish mainly eat crabs and other small fish. They also honk, or make a sound similar to a honk when they come out of the water.


Wednesday, 14 January 2015

A Shagging Good Time

In Waikanae near the estuary the Pied Shags appear to have claimed this macrocapa as their own. The side they have taken up residence on appears to be dead and the smell is rather ripe. I do wonder if the acidic smell has had something to do with the half-death of the tree.


As I watched I managed to capture some images of the parents coming back to feed their young. 


They appear almost full size with most of their feathers having come in so I wouldn't expect them to be in the nest much longer. The fledglings can be determined by the spots on their bellies.

 
This one appeared to be rubbing his head in despair at all of the noise from the demanding babies, it was unclear if he had his own.



The bachelors had the right plan and were relaxing by the lagoons edge with some of the fledglings.


Tuesday, 6 January 2015

The Three Musketeers

Over the weekend I took the dogs down the river to explore. They love playing in the water and fossicking in the scrub surrounding the banks. As soon as we got to the river Beau jumped in, sat down and starting drinking, right in the middle of the rapids.

 Luke tried to jump back onto the tree trunk but failed epically and slid back into the water. It was very entertaining to watch. Eventually Holly stopped wining and after watching myself jump over the pond decided it was safe and slid in. 


Shortly afterwards the dogs seemed to have a meeting and decided it was time to head home. Luke kept looking back at me with a pensive look as if something bad was about to happen, that or he really wanted to get home. Either way an exciting adventure was had by all.