Capture: BOTY Potty.
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Not a nomination for BirdOTYear, and lacking sharpness for PhotOTThread, but perhaps worthy for the subcategory of photos taken while seated at one's normal computer seat. Early morning three days ago, and I liked this rear view where its textured colour patches look like a skilled painter's brushwork.
In the family this would be known as a dice duck - a female with the distinctive white head and otherwise more colourful than the male, here atypically just one without its mate. So I point out it's a dice duck, rather than pair o' dice ducks as would more commonly be seen.
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White-faced heron in its nuptial plumage for spring - further up the dice duck's backdrop tree this morning, had to go outside for this one.
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Facing the light to show off its fine feathers.
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Islander, in reply to
Obviously a shelduck and closely related to our paradise shelducks (putakitakiatama/atoa). They are a big noisy highly territorial species and it seems to be a characteristic that the female is more beautifully coloured than the male...both of them sit on the eggs and both of them fly *very* fast. There's quite a few breeding pairs round Big O, and we have "SLOW DOWN! Ducklings!" signs we put up at need- because they will wander around the place, rightly reguarding it as their own.
(One of the sadder bird experiences in my life related to Dr L: she had raised a pari chick to adulthood. It was a female. It knew her house of raising. About 18 months later, I saw this pari leading a parade of about 12 pari chicks down a Big O sideroad- with a clearly anxious male backing the parade...Dr L was no longer in residence. Over the weeks, we saw the 12 chicks whittled down to 2, and the mum had obviously given up on going back to the house...there was nothing we could do to help.) -
Sorry, Islander - perhaps I needed a winking smiley. Indeed they're the very same paradise (shel-)ducks, linked through an apocryphal story of a visiting American who pointed out his new-found knowledge of these birds after mis-hearing a broad NZ rendering of 'paradise ducks' for a pair of them. It doesn't work so well on the page or screen.
But your "pari" for them where others might write 'parry' has potential for a mixed up pair. Last spring I did indeed see from this same seat what seemed to be a female paradise duck challenging another for pairing rights with a male who looked on with apparent indifference, leaving me wondering what the net result was.
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Beautiful birds everywhere . Has confirmed my decision not to vote, I cant choose!
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This kowhai was full of waxeyes when I arrived, and they all flew away at once. But as I stood still taking pictures they came back and resumed feeding and larking around. One even allowed me to take his/her picture. I felt rather flattered. :-)
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Islander, in reply to
Sorry!
My sense of humour is…deficient. I am apt to take anything to with birds as A Serious Matter Indeed-
I like dice ducks…and yep, like the males, female paris will do face to face combat- mainly a beak-trusting match rather than the males’ extraordinary chest-whacking bouts (which you can hear from quite a distance.) -
Islander, in reply to
O, and parry/s has a rather specific meaning in English, whereas pari/
paris doesnt. -
ChrisW, in reply to
Sounds impressive, thanks Islander - I'll keep my eyes and ears out for pari chest-thumping!
Here's another capture through the kitchen window, not this Spring but last April in that opposite season of mellow fruitfulness. Those silvereyes may be looking sweet and almost cooperative, but there was plenty of scrapping too! I call them figgin' silvereyes. But they're OK with me, I'm happy to share the figs.
All fig-eating birds seem to have a helpful behaviour, of focusing on one or a few at a time, eating each one thoroughly while leaving most other equally ripe ones untouched - in contrast to grapes etc where they'll take a peck or few out of as many as they please - and I've seen the same in Turkey with a different suite of bird species.
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Dunedin Botanic Gardens, many years ago.
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This photo won me a National Radio desk calendar last summer, as the morning program were wanting a photo of a waxeye taken that morning. Dunedin Botanic Gardens.
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Fluffy not duck.
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Nora Leggs, in reply to
many years ago
Lovely!
Duck reflection
&
People watching ducklings -
Nora Leggs, in reply to
White-faced heron
Beautiful pictures - beautiful birds : )
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All these beautiful birds! A bird alighted on the telephone lines just recently and upon reading this thread again discovered it was a waxeye. Delightful! Ruby had an encounter with a bird yesterday (no, not the dead penguin). Mum's put a feeder box on her deck railing, and there are about 5 doves hanging around her place. She's called them all Steve. (Don't ask me). Anyway, this dove came and settled in the feeder box, and Ruby was absolutely fascinated. I'm a bit wary about her around birds - she once (unseen by me) discovered 2 blackbirds making babies on a very low branch in the park, and apparently killed them. I don't know it was on purpose, or if she just went to grab them. Either way, I was watching her, if you'll excuse the expression, like a hawk. But she only sniffed it. When it flew into the trees, she raced down there and sat, very patiently, until it flew back to the feeder box. And so on. She's tall enough that the feeder box was right by her nose but she never touched the bird. Our doggy houseguest on the other hand was immediately on prey alert. Thankfully, the dove had it's wits about it!
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A family trip to Tahuna Torea Reserve this morning. Nice walk, and few birds in attendance.
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Look out!!! Bird hunting in Western Springs park this afternoon – seething with birds it was…..
Black swan, green reflections
Swan family
Signet in Fern reflection -
Jackie Clark, in reply to
Oh Nora, that first one is divine! So green.
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Nora Leggs, in reply to
So green
My word that was fast Jackie, I'd barely hit Post : )
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Does the Lady Bird count? Also at Western Springs.
Goose
Gull -
Then there was the Moorhen family
And pond
And just the fern reflected -
Lilith __, in reply to
the fern reflected
Those reflections are amazing. Op art. :-) What a lot of beautiful photos in this thread.
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Islander, in reply to
Tautoko!
This thread - this place - refreshes my mind...thank you everyone! (actually, that wee ladybird is a bit unusual...) -
Lilith __, in reply to
few birds in attendance.
Jackson, I had to look those shags up but they are I think NOT Black Shags OR Little Shags but Little Black Shags!! We don't get them down here and they are v cute.
Also like the heron with extra-long legs. :-)
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