#Tag · bonfire.cafe

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.

Jon Sullivan

@joncounts@mastodon.nz · 4 days ago

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

Jon Sullivan

@joncounts@mastodon.nz · 2 months ago

Today I did my monthly biodiversity run up into the Port Hills of Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ. That takes my out of the Cashmere suburbs through the planted native forest and grasslands of Victoria Park and up into the old growth and naturally regenerated native forest of Sugarloaf peak.

I've been doing this route monthly since 2016, mapping and counting out birds and butterflies and assorted plants and fungi.

Here are some of today's highlights.

I had a close encounter with a kererū, perched about 1 metre from me (always a treat): https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848998

A kahukura (red admiral) was feeding from exotic Viburnum flowers: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297849009

Some scarlet pouch fungi were lighting up the forest floor on Sugarloaf: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848989

The one taramea (Aciphylla subfabellata speargrass) that I know of is still up by the Summit Road and looking healthy: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848991

#nature #WildCounts #UrbanEcology #EcologicalMonitoring

A photo of a kererū (NZ wood pigeon) which is a big blue-green bird with a white chest and a red beak. It's perched on a branch at head height about a metre from me.

My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848998 — A photo of a kererū (NZ wood pigeon) which is a big blue-green bird with a white chest and a red beak. It's perched on a branch at head height about a metre from me. My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848998

A photo looking down from head height at a thin-leaved spiny plant. This is a taramea, a kind of NZ speargrass (also called spaniard). They're no longer common in the Port Hills, as they're susceptible to grazing by introduced mammals. I map out all the ones I find and add them to iNaturalist.

My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848991 — A photo looking down from head height at a thin-leaved spiny plant. This is a taramea, a kind of NZ speargrass (also called spaniard). They're no longer common in the Port Hills, as they're susceptible to grazing by introduced mammals. I map out all the ones I find and add them to iNaturalist. My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848991

A photo of two small red mushrooms with white stalks, on the forest floor.

My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848989 — A photo of two small red mushrooms with white stalks, on the forest floor. My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297848989

A photo of a NZ red admiral butterfly (a dark butterfly with big red blotches and smaller white and blue blotches), feeding from white Viburnum flowers.

My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297849009 — A photo of a NZ red admiral butterfly (a dark butterfly with big red blotches and smaller white and blue blotches), feeding from white Viburnum flowers. My full-res photo is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/297849009