#Tag
An over-friendly sea lion has made quite an impression in Riverton. It demanded access to someone's home.
Imagine how this couple felt trying to hold their front door closed with a two tonne sea lion thumping on the other side.
An over-friendly sea lion has made quite an impression in Riverton. It demanded access to someone's home.
Imagine how this couple felt trying to hold their front door closed with a two tonne sea lion thumping on the other side.
I was running down off the hills this afternoon as part of my monthly biodiversity survey of this Port Hills route. I was carrying cameras and a monocular and a wind-shielded microphone plugged into my phone.
A couple of young guys biked up the hill on their mountain bikes.
"Capturing the birds?" one of them asked, curiously.
"Yeah!" I replied.
"Premium," he nodded.
There wasn't time to explain that I was capturing more than bird observations. Still, here are two of my afternoon's "premium" bird observations.
😄
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214
#nz#ChristchurchPortHills#Ōtautahi#Christchurch #birds #nature#BiodiversitySurvey #wildcounts #iNaturalistNZ
I was running down off the hills this afternoon as part of my monthly biodiversity survey of this Port Hills route. I was carrying cameras and a monocular and a wind-shielded microphone plugged into my phone.
A couple of young guys biked up the hill on their mountain bikes.
"Capturing the birds?" one of them asked, curiously.
"Yeah!" I replied.
"Premium," he nodded.
There wasn't time to explain that I was capturing more than bird observations. Still, here are two of my afternoon's "premium" bird observations.
😄
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214
#nz#ChristchurchPortHills#Ōtautahi#Christchurch #birds #nature#BiodiversitySurvey #wildcounts #iNaturalistNZ
How to unexpectedly acquire a chicken in 6 easy steps:
1) Go to a remote forest reserve in the hills where you've never seen a chicken before. Find a chicken waiting for you there.
2) Offer the chicken food. (I had an old, unopened muesli bar in my backpack that did the trick.)
3) Feed the chicken some of the food by the car.
4) Slowly open the car door, and put some of the food inside the car. Provide a step up into the car for the chicken. (If the chicken is suspicious of the backpack you first use as a step, swap that out for something the chicken recognises, like a nearby brick.)
5) Wait patiently for the chicken to hop up into the car.
6) Close the car door. Drive home with the chicken.
😄
How to unexpectedly acquire a chicken in 6 easy steps:
1) Go to a remote forest reserve in the hills where you've never seen a chicken before. Find a chicken waiting for you there.
2) Offer the chicken food. (I had an old, unopened muesli bar in my backpack that did the trick.)
3) Feed the chicken some of the food by the car.
4) Slowly open the car door, and put some of the food inside the car. Provide a step up into the car for the chicken. (If the chicken is suspicious of the backpack you first use as a step, swap that out for something the chicken recognises, like a nearby brick.)
5) Wait patiently for the chicken to hop up into the car.
6) Close the car door. Drive home with the chicken.
😄
If you're in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, and are keen to make some noise about the climate crisis on Friday, note that the young team of #SchoolStrikeforClimate have a protest march planned. They're starting at the Bridge of Remembrance at 1 PM.
My daughter is one of the organisers and she's worried that the turnout will be low this year as recently Meta locked them out of their Instagram account (they don't know why but expect it's because they expressed support for Palestinians). They started another Instagram account but don't have many followers.
(I've tried to convince them of the general excellence of Mastodon, but without any success, so far.)
Anyway, if you're a local, a boost would be appreciated, as would support from all ages on Friday. Thanks!
If you're in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, and are keen to make some noise about the climate crisis on Friday, note that the young team of #SchoolStrikeforClimate have a protest march planned. They're starting at the Bridge of Remembrance at 1 PM.
My daughter is one of the organisers and she's worried that the turnout will be low this year as recently Meta locked them out of their Instagram account (they don't know why but expect it's because they expressed support for Palestinians). They started another Instagram account but don't have many followers.
(I've tried to convince them of the general excellence of Mastodon, but without any success, so far.)
Anyway, if you're a local, a boost would be appreciated, as would support from all ages on Friday. Thanks!
We just brought it six audio recorders from across campus at #LincolnUniversityNZ, which students had laid out as part of our long-term monitoring of campus birds.
To our surprise, and annoyance, some pesky varmint has done its best to gnaw right through one of them. I've not seen anything like it before, and we've had these units left out in all sorts of wild places.
Either it's one very hungry rat, or a rat that particularly likes the taste of plastic. Maybe if we can catch it and breed it, there's a potential for plastic recycling rat farms.
We just brought it six audio recorders from across campus at #LincolnUniversityNZ, which students had laid out as part of our long-term monitoring of campus birds.
To our surprise, and annoyance, some pesky varmint has done its best to gnaw right through one of them. I've not seen anything like it before, and we've had these units left out in all sorts of wild places.
Either it's one very hungry rat, or a rat that particularly likes the taste of plastic. Maybe if we can catch it and breed it, there's a potential for plastic recycling rat farms.
A #book that some of you may find interesting
This details the poisoning of a man living in Parker Road, Oratia (West Auckland) in the 1890s. It's a true story. The author has done a lot of research and not only tells the story of what happened and the trial, but also followed the lives of his family afterwards. The intergenerational impact of what had happened really struck me.
A #book that some of you may find interesting
This details the poisoning of a man living in Parker Road, Oratia (West Auckland) in the 1890s. It's a true story. The author has done a lot of research and not only tells the story of what happened and the trial, but also followed the lives of his family afterwards. The intergenerational impact of what had happened really struck me.
Repair Festival Aotearoa 2025
6 - 14 September 2025
https://www.repairnetworkaotearoa.org.nz/repair-festival-by-regions
I don't know how this search works as it doesn't list a few I know like the one in Pukekohe is not listed (See below)
At a glance:
There's a repair cafes where volunteers are repairing something you have brought. There are limits either in the size or number of items you bring. Read the small print etc.
There are also some workshops or group activities that teaches you how to mend your own stuff like sewing or patching etc.
Many of these have been happening on a regular basis, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly. For these what happens at each spot depends on the volunteers that show up and their ability.
The ones in Auckland do publicise their regular happenings on fb. There's also some who list in https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/ or Eventfinda https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/search?q=repair
The search on eventfinda shows regular one of the regular ones in Pukekohe https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/pukekohe-repair-cafe/auckland/pukekohe
Many use social media like fb or instagram to publicise their efforts. I don't know if there's any that use Mastodon
Repair Network Aotearoa also had a hand in trying to introduce the Right to Repair Bill
https://www.repairnetworkaotearoa.org.nz/right-to-repair-bill
If you have skills do volunteer to help out at future events.
Repair Festival Aotearoa 2025
6 - 14 September 2025
https://www.repairnetworkaotearoa.org.nz/repair-festival-by-regions
I don't know how this search works as it doesn't list a few I know like the one in Pukekohe is not listed (See below)
At a glance:
There's a repair cafes where volunteers are repairing something you have brought. There are limits either in the size or number of items you bring. Read the small print etc.
There are also some workshops or group activities that teaches you how to mend your own stuff like sewing or patching etc.
Many of these have been happening on a regular basis, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly. For these what happens at each spot depends on the volunteers that show up and their ability.
The ones in Auckland do publicise their regular happenings on fb. There's also some who list in https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/ or Eventfinda https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/search?q=repair
The search on eventfinda shows regular one of the regular ones in Pukekohe https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/pukekohe-repair-cafe/auckland/pukekohe
Many use social media like fb or instagram to publicise their efforts. I don't know if there's any that use Mastodon
Repair Network Aotearoa also had a hand in trying to introduce the Right to Repair Bill
https://www.repairnetworkaotearoa.org.nz/right-to-repair-bill
If you have skills do volunteer to help out at future events.
Here's a new weed to watch out for in NZ: long-flowered Veldt grass, Ehrharta longiflora.
I found one in flower yesterday. It's an annual relative of the now widespread perennial Veldt grass, Ehrharta erecta, which the NZ Plant Conservation several years ago voted the worst environmental weed in NZ. That's because it chokes out semi-shaded areas in bush where a lot of native herbaceous plants like to grow.
Long-flowered Veldt grass may not be as bad, since it's a fast-growing Spring annual, but still, do we want to take that risk?
At the moment the only place in all of the South Island that it's known is around the base of Hackthorne Road in Christchurch. Some effort has been made to contain it but the main property that it's on doesn't want the council on her land so it keeps spreading here.
If you find it anywhere else, that's important. Note the distinctive pinkish bracts on the flowers.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/310728311
#weeds#InvasivePlants#Biosecurity#NZ #botany #Poaceae #grasses
Here's a new weed to watch out for in NZ: long-flowered Veldt grass, Ehrharta longiflora.
I found one in flower yesterday. It's an annual relative of the now widespread perennial Veldt grass, Ehrharta erecta, which the NZ Plant Conservation several years ago voted the worst environmental weed in NZ. That's because it chokes out semi-shaded areas in bush where a lot of native herbaceous plants like to grow.
Long-flowered Veldt grass may not be as bad, since it's a fast-growing Spring annual, but still, do we want to take that risk?
At the moment the only place in all of the South Island that it's known is around the base of Hackthorne Road in Christchurch. Some effort has been made to contain it but the main property that it's on doesn't want the council on her land so it keeps spreading here.
If you find it anywhere else, that's important. Note the distinctive pinkish bracts on the flowers.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/310728311
#weeds#InvasivePlants#Biosecurity#NZ #botany #Poaceae #grasses
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