A gaggle of geese

As I walked down the lakeside path look who is here.

One head popped up from a snooze and by the time I took the photo another eye was upon me too.

I walked very slowly and quietly towards the four geese. My proximity caused some stretching to happen.

As I drew closer there was some gossiping beginning to happen in hushed tones, not hissing tones thank goodness.

In fact the four females were neither camera shy, nor aggressive towards me. All the while there was a discussion going on between them as to my credentials and authorization status. This conferring did require a team meeting.

One even posed to show me her best side.

And I was granted the right to proceed down the path to discover a lovely young Rimu tree.

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A walk around the Upper Lake

After I picked up some provisions from the local shops I went for a walk along the side of the Upper Lake in my suburb. We have two man-made lakes and the upper one is smaller, more wooded and quiet. It seemed an ideal place to walk, to reflect and to focus the camera.

A short distance down the path I came across these four geese.

On the lake were these white ducks.

As I approached the geese, two pukekos emerged from the long grass and headed to the lakeside, wary of my intrusion.

Many native trees grow along this path but there are also homes on the left-hand side and a splash of vibrant colour caught my eye in one spot.

I paused at seat near the lake edge and looked out at the water-lilies and the reflection in the water of one patch of blue sky.

We have some unusual looking trees in our bush. This Lancewood is one. It makes me think of primeval times.

My camera batteries died as I neared the steep incline at the end of the lake. That seemed a good indication that it was time to head home.

My own personal fly-over!

Today I went back to the Pauatahanui Burial Ground to photograph the rose-hips.

I became aware of bird calls and across the skyline flew a flock of Canadian Geese. They headed out over the Pauatahanui Inlet.

For some reason they then looped back and headed straight over me in the rose garden.

In a remarkable turn of luck I snapped this photograph as they passed overhead.

My own personal fly-over certainly lifted my spirits for the day.

Frenzied feeding on a foggy day

It is not often that we experience foggy weather here. Mostly this is because I live in a part of New Zealand that is very famous for its windy climate. But today we awoke to a muffled day of thick fog and low cloud.

I wanted to capture a photo of this foggy day down by one of our lakes. The birdlife was hopeful that I might have bread to feed them but I didn’t today.

Fortunately for the birds a grandfather and his wee granddaughter did have a bag of bread to share in that time honoured tradition of “feeding the ducks”.

A feeding frenzy began with the 4 resident geese leading the charge. The sea gulls skirmished with the ducks and the two pukekos sprinted over to join in the melee. It was chaotic with squawks, honks, and quacks.

The wee one sat wide-eyed but quiet as she ate the piece of bread her grandfather had given her to toss to the starving wildlife!

It was fun to watch and enjoy in the misty, foggy rain.