Lean into the light

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A little pictorial history of Makara Beach

Another view at Makara Beach, July 2015

These two photos appeared on the Old Wellington Region Facebook page a day or two after my recent visit to Makara Beach. (Blog post here)

“High St” seems a very grand title for this rough, rocky track.

Living right on the edge of the beach back in 1907 was courageous to say the least. Back in this time it was thought to be a predominantly Italian fishing settlement. I note from archival notes that the area was evacuated at the time of WW 11 and gun emplacements from that area are still to be found on the various walkways today.

Clocking the Cuckoos

New Zealand’s Forest and Bird organisation posted this information on their Facebook page today. I haven’t heard a shining cuckoo yet but when I do I will report to the spring migration research that is mentioned here:

Michael Anderson is postdoctoral fellow at Massey University who wants to know more about the arrival dates of the Long-tailed Cuckoo and Shining Cuckoo. These Cuckoos are NZ’s only forest birds that migrate out of the country. They breed in NZ, parasitizing endemic species, using them to raise their offspring for them. Little is known about their migration patterns, so Michael wants any info about the dates they arrive at each part of the country. Obviously we can’t ask customs. If you hear or see one of these birds, could you report it using one of these Google forms Long-tailed Cuckoo spring migration form
http://goo.gl/ClBMWZ and the Shining Cuckoo spring migration formhttp://goo.gl/CDjbuh. Check out these links for more info about our cuckoos http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/long-tailed-cuckoo, http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/shining-cuckoo) and some nice writing about the Shining Cuckoo from NZbirds http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/pipiwharauroa.html –

Long tailed cuckoo photograph by Duncan Watson, sourced from http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz

For a little more information about the Shining Cuckoos’ relationship with the Grey Warbler go here.

Shining Cuckoo photograph by Duncan Watson, sourced from http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz

If you are a New Zealand reader please clock in any cuckoos you see or hear so we can learn more about their unique habits.

Views from our two back doors

Celi over here has recently invited her sizeable readership to post photos of the view from their back porches or back doors.

We have two back doors, although one technically is a side door. It is the one that we use all the time to access the back part of the section.
This is a view from this door.

The other door, the official back door, is very rarely used and looks out on to some pots and my collection of tubs in which I grow a few vegetables and a peep through some deck railings to our Golden Elm tree and Cabbage tree.

Do go and look at the many and varied views that Celi has collated on her blog. It has proved to be a colourful challenge that many have met with their stunning photos.