Lillestrøm library is nice. 👍
@matt they have a very similar stairs with reading cushions setup in #Christchurch Library, NZ
Angela Antunovic
boosted
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
My photo from today of a South Island fantail, backlit by the late afternoon western skyline. NZ fantails are small insect-catching birds with long fan-shaped tails.
My photo from today of a kererū (NZ woodpigeon) resting on a branch of a tree lucerne. Kererū are large blue-green birds with a white breast and a read eye and beak. This looks like a younger one.
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
My photo from today of a South Island fantail, backlit by the late afternoon western skyline. NZ fantails are small insect-catching birds with long fan-shaped tails.
My photo from today of a kererū (NZ woodpigeon) resting on a branch of a tree lucerne. Kererū are large blue-green birds with a white breast and a read eye and beak. This looks like a younger one.
Eliot B
and 4 others
boosted
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!
Eliot B
boosted
I spent this afternoon touring the "Red Zone" of Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ, with two friends. One of them works for Corrections and with his "clients" they've so far planted more than 90,000(!) native trees in this area of the city. Many more are to come. They're still baby trees now but a whole forest is on it's way!
For non-locals, the Red Zone was created after the disastrous Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 wrecked the housing in this eastern area of the city. Most of it was reclaimed wetland and the ground didn't hold up to a serious quake. The city decided not to re-house it.
The houses have since been removed although many of the home garden trees were retained. The area is now being re-landscaped for nature, recreation, and floodwater retention.
A photo of a grassy field filled with many hundreds of sticks. At the base of each one is a planted young native tree.
A photo of a grassy field filled with many hundreds of sticks. At the base of each one is a planted young native tree.
In this area the ground was so compacted by housing that it had to be ploughed before planting. It's now a field of "combi guards" (cardboard sheaths) each protecting a planted young native tree.
A photo of a grassy field filled with many hundreds of sticks. At the base of each one is a planted young native tree.
I spent this afternoon touring the "Red Zone" of Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ, with two friends. One of them works for Corrections and with his "clients" they've so far planted more than 90,000(!) native trees in this area of the city. Many more are to come. They're still baby trees now but a whole forest is on it's way!
For non-locals, the Red Zone was created after the disastrous Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 wrecked the housing in this eastern area of the city. Most of it was reclaimed wetland and the ground didn't hold up to a serious quake. The city decided not to re-house it.
The houses have since been removed although many of the home garden trees were retained. The area is now being re-landscaped for nature, recreation, and floodwater retention.
A photo of a grassy field filled with many hundreds of sticks. At the base of each one is a planted young native tree.
A photo of a grassy field filled with many hundreds of sticks. At the base of each one is a planted young native tree.
In this area the ground was so compacted by housing that it had to be ploughed before planting. It's now a field of "combi guards" (cardboard sheaths) each protecting a planted young native tree.
A photo of a grassy field filled with many hundreds of sticks. At the base of each one is a planted young native tree.
Mark
and 1 other
boosted
they paved Seagull Pit, put up a parking lot...
I was disappointed to find this week that the seagulls have all been banished from the Christchurch "Seagull Pit" and it's now another car park.
After the Christchurch earthquakes, the badly damaged PricewaterhouseCoopers Building was demolished, leaving the remains of the foundation, which filled with water. To everyone's surprise, a group of tarāpuka , black-billed gulls, found it and formed a breeding colony, right in the middle of the city. They're the rarest of NZ's seagulls and typically breed on temporary gravel islands in braided rivers.
On Google Maps and Apple Maps the site was listed as a Tourist Attraction called "Seagull Pit", open 24 hours.
The area was always going become another building eventually. In the meantime, instead of gulls, we've now got another carpark.
A screenshot from Apple Maps that I made today. It shows the satellite image of the foundations of the old building, labeled as "Seagull pit". The pop up window adds that it's a "Tourist attraction" and there are photos of it and under details is says "Hours: Open 24 hours".
Unfortunately, this is now out of date as the site has been converted into a carpark while it waits for a new building to be built here.
A photo of three adult black-billed gulls, and a red-billed gull, nesting on a concrete beam in the remains of the foundation of a demolished city building. Under one of the black-billed gulls you can see a fluffy grey chick.
I took this photo in February 2020.
A photo from 2020 of the three people watching gulls through a wire meshed viewing window in a fence. The gull colony was somewhere between an attraction and a curiosity and a nuisance, depending on who you talked to. The photo shows my daughter and two visiting animal behaviour experts from the US, so it was definitely an attraction for them.
A photo from 2021 of the flooded foundations of demolished large city building. Some of the supporting concrete pillars still stand, and the basement has filled with rainwater, creating a series of small islands for seagulls to roost and nest on.
they paved Seagull Pit, put up a parking lot...
I was disappointed to find this week that the seagulls have all been banished from the Christchurch "Seagull Pit" and it's now another car park.
After the Christchurch earthquakes, the badly damaged PricewaterhouseCoopers Building was demolished, leaving the remains of the foundation, which filled with water. To everyone's surprise, a group of tarāpuka , black-billed gulls, found it and formed a breeding colony, right in the middle of the city. They're the rarest of NZ's seagulls and typically breed on temporary gravel islands in braided rivers.
On Google Maps and Apple Maps the site was listed as a Tourist Attraction called "Seagull Pit", open 24 hours.
The area was always going become another building eventually. In the meantime, instead of gulls, we've now got another carpark.
A screenshot from Apple Maps that I made today. It shows the satellite image of the foundations of the old building, labeled as "Seagull pit". The pop up window adds that it's a "Tourist attraction" and there are photos of it and under details is says "Hours: Open 24 hours".
Unfortunately, this is now out of date as the site has been converted into a carpark while it waits for a new building to be built here.
A photo of three adult black-billed gulls, and a red-billed gull, nesting on a concrete beam in the remains of the foundation of a demolished city building. Under one of the black-billed gulls you can see a fluffy grey chick.
I took this photo in February 2020.
A photo from 2020 of the three people watching gulls through a wire meshed viewing window in a fence. The gull colony was somewhere between an attraction and a curiosity and a nuisance, depending on who you talked to. The photo shows my daughter and two visiting animal behaviour experts from the US, so it was definitely an attraction for them.
A photo from 2021 of the flooded foundations of demolished large city building. Some of the supporting concrete pillars still stand, and the basement has filled with rainwater, creating a series of small islands for seagulls to roost and nest on.
Here's what the Seagull Pit looks like now. There is blue mesh around the walls of the carpark to stop the seagulls from finding anywhere to perch.
Sigh.
they paved Seagull Pit, put up a parking lot...
I was disappointed to find this week that the seagulls have all been banished from the Christchurch "Seagull Pit" and it's now another car park.
After the Christchurch earthquakes, the badly damaged PricewaterhouseCoopers Building was demolished, leaving the remains of the foundation, which filled with water. To everyone's surprise, a group of tarāpuka , black-billed gulls, found it and formed a breeding colony, right in the middle of the city. They're the rarest of NZ's seagulls and typically breed on temporary gravel islands in braided rivers.
On Google Maps and Apple Maps the site was listed as a Tourist Attraction called "Seagull Pit", open 24 hours.
The area was always going become another building eventually. In the meantime, instead of gulls, we've now got another carpark.
A screenshot from Apple Maps that I made today. It shows the satellite image of the foundations of the old building, labeled as "Seagull pit". The pop up window adds that it's a "Tourist attraction" and there are photos of it and under details is says "Hours: Open 24 hours".
Unfortunately, this is now out of date as the site has been converted into a carpark while it waits for a new building to be built here.
A photo of three adult black-billed gulls, and a red-billed gull, nesting on a concrete beam in the remains of the foundation of a demolished city building. Under one of the black-billed gulls you can see a fluffy grey chick.
I took this photo in February 2020.
A photo from 2020 of the three people watching gulls through a wire meshed viewing window in a fence. The gull colony was somewhere between an attraction and a curiosity and a nuisance, depending on who you talked to. The photo shows my daughter and two visiting animal behaviour experts from the US, so it was definitely an attraction for them.
A photo from 2021 of the flooded foundations of demolished large city building. Some of the supporting concrete pillars still stand, and the basement has filled with rainwater, creating a series of small islands for seagulls to roost and nest on.
In #otautahi#Christchurch#NZ earlier today.
🇵🇸
Here are four wetland birds I've photographed on my bike commute to work this week, between Ōtautahi-Chirstchurch and Lincoln, New Zealand. Together they're a testament to how much wetland bird life has been returning to the wider city, as the city has been restoring native wetland habitats.
I've been counting birds on my bike commute to Lincoln since 2003. While I saw pied oystercatchers in 2003, the first ever pied stilt I counted wasn't until August 2017, the first grey teal I counted was in July 2019, and the first coot I counted was in June 2024.
Bring back the wetlands and the birds return.
Poaka · Australian Pied stilt: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/306208255
Tete · Grey teal: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/306208254
Tōrea · South Island Pied Oystercatcher: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/306208266
Australasian Coot: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/306208248
A photo of an Australasian Coot, a black duck-like water bird, swimming on a pond.
A photo of a Tōrea · South Island Pied Oystercatcher. It's a black and white bird with a red ring around its eye and a bright orange-red long bill. It's on a grassy farm field.
A photo of a grey teal, a small greyish duck, on a pond with wetland sedges in the background.
A photo of a pied stilt foraging on an ephemeral pond in a farm field.
Angela Antunovic
and 1 other
boosted
I was saddened to read this story headlining the #RNZ website this morning about the death of 19-year old Fyfa Dawson, killed while riding her bike through roadworks. Christchurch has a car problem and it should be a much safer place to commute by bike.
We’ve got a few separated cycleways, which are great. Everywhere else now is a dangerous double cab ute parade and our roadworks are still managing traffic by blocking off the road verges with traffic cones and forcing bikes into the flow of traffic. We’re even building new road intersections that ask commuter cyclists to get off the road and become pedestrians just to cross the intersection.
“the coroner found errors in the "vehicle-centric" design and implementation of the temporary traffic management plan largely caused the crash”
Things could be so much better.
I hope this verdict by the coroner means that changes are made and we don’t lose another Fyfa.
My deepest sympathies for Fyfa’s family.
I was saddened to read this story headlining the #RNZ website this morning about the death of 19-year old Fyfa Dawson, killed while riding her bike through roadworks. Christchurch has a car problem and it should be a much safer place to commute by bike.
We’ve got a few separated cycleways, which are great. Everywhere else now is a dangerous double cab ute parade and our roadworks are still managing traffic by blocking off the road verges with traffic cones and forcing bikes into the flow of traffic. We’re even building new road intersections that ask commuter cyclists to get off the road and become pedestrians just to cross the intersection.
“the coroner found errors in the "vehicle-centric" design and implementation of the temporary traffic management plan largely caused the crash”
Things could be so much better.
I hope this verdict by the coroner means that changes are made and we don’t lose another Fyfa.
My deepest sympathies for Fyfa’s family.