The overcast Thursday offered me a great opportunity to escape my workshop and to experience the peace, beauty and tranquility of this magical island retreat situated in the Hauraki Gulf.

The ferry trip from Auckland took about 75 minutes stopping off at Gulf Harbour along the way to pick up more passengers.

Immediately upon stepping on the island I sensed that this special place was going to quickly grow on me. Once the briefing from the DOC ranger was over we promptly set off to explore. In our travels we were also hoping to shoot some memorable photos and video of the bird life and anything else that might be of interest.

As we walked the tracks we were soon to be greeted by various birds but rather than prattle on as I’m sometimes prone I will let the video tell the remainder of our story.

We spent a very enjoyable day on Tiritiri Matangi and hope to return before too long as there is so much more to see. If you’ve never visited “Tiri” and are contemplating doing so I can now highly recommend it as an unforgettable experience.

A few days back whilst toiling away in my workshop I spotted two kereru or wood pigeons land in a gleditsia tree about 35 metres down the back lawn. At the time I was busy making up tui feeder orders so decided to admire them from a distance and continue with my work.

This was never going to last because all I could think about was how great they would look on video. Usually I don’t need much of an excuse to take a break and this was one of those occasions. Just one of the many advantages of working from home.

Pigeons often visit this time of the year to eat berries from the various trees that we planted about 13 years back for this very reason.

As I was filming I thought back on the recent much publicised case of Norwegian tourists shooting Kereru whilst on a hunting trip to New Zealand. I just couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to kill such a magnificent bird. Such a pity that they were not apprehended and prosecuted as the penalties for killing birds like these can be as much as $100,000. Regardless of who you are there is absolutely no justifiable reason for hunting them.

It would be real tragedy if these beautiful birds were wiped out due to poaching as they already have many other predators to deal with. Often I can get within just a few metres of them therefore it certainly wouldn’t be difficult to hunt them.

If we all play our part we all can enjoy the beauty of the Kereru for many years to come. We are very lucky indeed to have these beautiful birds visiting our garden as they are truly magnificent.

At some stage when time permits I hope to erect a Keruru feeding station somewhere in the garden to attract more of them. I’ve not heard of anyone being successful in doing this but its worth a try. Any help or advice concerning this would be very welcome.

After frustrating almost every camera store owner in Auckland over the last eight months, last week I shocked my family by arriving home with a shiny new camera under my arm. From time to time they unjustifiably accuse me of being over cautious when parting with my hard earned cash when in reality, its just about “being frugal”.

That aside I couldn’t wait to get started so after a quick flick through of the manual it was time to take this baby for a test run.

Sadly, my initial excitement was very short lived as this test run was more like a crash and burn. Upon downloading the first video I soon realised that my new pride and joy was a poor excuse for a video camera.

This camera was in fact “a dog” and a mongrel one at that!

Resolution and colours were grim at best and no matter how I tried to convince myself that “I could live with it”, I knew that I couldn’t.

After several days I decided that the best approach was to contact the retailer and advise them of my concerns. At first I was somewhat hesitant as the camera had been purchased during a store sale and I had been told that it couldn’t be returned.

What the heck, I made the call as already I hated this camera.

Much to my surprise the response was, “certainly Mr Dunn, bring the camera back and we will see what can be done”.

An hour later with my pocket a further $350 lighter I was back from the store with what I hoped would be a better model. Unlike the first this one recorded in high definition so the end results should be better?

This my first attempt features a cast of thousands.

As I am an avid photographer I’m always on the lookout for that great shot so one rainy morning last week I downed my tools, grabbed the camera and went wandering in the garden. Due to the fact that there was poor light and close up images on slow shutter speeds to capture I also took the larger of my two tripods with me.

Of late the weather in Auckland has been milder and that magical feeling one gets as spring approaches was the motivation for getting out and about to take these shots.

Below: Another sure sign that spring is approaching is this cherry tree in full bloom. The nectar from it’s flowers is very much a favourite with the tuis.

Below: Magnolias always brighten our garden in late winter.

Spring is my favourite time of year as it allows me to spend more time in my garden.

Several days ago I made mention of how nice it was to see the remaining monarch butterflies finally emerging from their chrysalis’s.

My pleasure proved to be very short lived however as the following day the monarch that had been preparing to fly off into the big blue yonder was no more, sadly “it was dead”.

My usual morning saunter took me past the front deck and that’s when I came upon this grizzly scene.

My first instinct was to deal with the offending praying mantis but thought better of that and decided to get my camera instead. The response from our daughter Daniela when she saw what had happened was, ” that’s gross” plus she was curious as to why I would want to photograph such an event.

The monarch was dead and I could do nothing to change that but I was feeling a little hostile toward the mantis as I’d been watching these chrysalis’s for the last six weeks.

Upon reflection it’s a little like seeing the zebra being brought down by the lioness and feeling sympathetic but also realising it’s just the way of nature.

After getting a few photos I carefully transported the praying mantis to a nearby tree in the hope it would not devour the other monarchs when they emerged.

I did read somewhere that praying mantis would eat monarchs but have never witnessed this before.

I found all of this somewhat tragic but fascinating!

Favourite Quotes:
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Albert Schweitzer

Back on the 2nd May I made a comment that I thought the 12 or so Monarch chrysalis’s on our front deck would probably not survive due to the onset of winter.  Over the last six weeks their colour hadn’t changed significantly plus recently we had a couple of severe frosts so I assumed they were doomed.

But not so!

Much to my surprise yesterday I noticed that a butterfly had broken free and was preparing itself for departure.

The curious aspect to all this is that usually the metamorphosis of the Monarch takes approximately six to eight weeks whereas these guys have been hanging about in the pupal stage for six weeks.

Seems odd, perhaps when the weather turns colder the whole process slows down.

If anyone out there knows I would love to hear from them.

In my many years of observing Monarchs I’ve never seen them around this late before.

One reason why they have survived could be due to the fact that they are in a sheltered position under the eave of the house and have therefore escaped the worst of the weather.

Regardless of why it’s just nice to see them gracing our garden again.

Favourite Quotes
We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us. Albert Einstein

Most mornings after breakfast I take a casual stroll around our property to see what’s new and to ensure all is in order. So that I don’t get distracted the camera remains on my office desk but sometimes it’s a hurried return to the house to fetch it.

Drat, why didn’t I bring the camera? This is usually what I mutter as I race back.

Last Friday was such a morning.

Whilst meandering I noticed a mass of toadstools that had sprung up over night, or so it seemed. Standing there taking in this enchanting scene was soon followed by a nervous twitch in my shutter finger. When this happens there’s only one course of action to follow.

The morning was overcast, moody and misty plus the lighting was perfect but I could feel spits of rain so haste was needed if I was to capture that “magical shot”.

I’ll let you be the judge.

Favourite Quotes:
Whoever loves and understands a garden will find contentment within. Chinese Proverb

]]> http://www.justaddworms.com/2009/05/28/fascinating-fungi/feed/ 0 http://www.justaddworms.com/2009/03/30/monarchs-return-as-unwelcome-australians-depart/ http://www.justaddworms.com/2009/03/30/monarchs-return-as-unwelcome-australians-depart/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:44:41 +0000 Rodney http://www.justaddworms.com/?p=1270

Every summer we look forward to a visit from our very special friends the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). It’s like they’ve become a part of our family.

About three weeks ago I indicated in a previous post that all was not well as the developing caterpillars were being wiped out by a plague of Australian paper wasps. Yes … Australians causing trouble again, do you remember that infamous under arm ball?

I’m pleased to say that these unwelcome visitors have now left and once again our friends are munching away much to their hearts and bellies content. Just within the last few days a number have undergone the change from the caterpillar (larval) stage to the chrysalis (pupal) stage. In a few weeks they will emerge as a butterfly and fly away.

With a month of autumn already gone I’m rather surprised to see the Monarchs still about because most years they depart our garden well before now. March has been a much milder month than usual so I suspect this is the reason why. The weather is due to get much colder very soon therefore I suspect many of the smaller caterpillars will not survive.

Next summer I will endeavour to find the wasp nests and deal to them sooner so that more Monarchs can complete their full life cycle. This hasn’t happened this year with very few making it through.

Is this monarch butterfly male or female … check it out here.

It’s so nice to see them back again!

Bye for now, we will see you again next year.

Post Script: 7th April – Swan plants now have a mass of large caterpillars feeding on them. Reaching chrysalis and butterfly stages will now be dependent upon the weather. Day light saving has just ended and the nights are getting much colder.

Post Script: 21st April – Caterpillars have stripped the swan plants of all foliage and now have no food. The larger ones like these in the photo are surviving on pumpkin which we are attaching to the bare branches. The smaller ones will ultimately die due to starvation and the worsening weather.

Post Script: 2nd May – Weather is getting colder now with 8 degrees expected over night. Caterpillars have either died or are at the chrysalis stage. Don’t know if they will survive as its late in the season for them. Sadly this butterfly didn’t survive as it was deformed. Those still to emerge may suffer the same fate or they could die within the chrysalis.

Favourite Quotes:
“How does one become a butterfly?” she asked pensively.”You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” Trina Paulus

It was dead, no need to panic  …

How it died and ended up perfectly intact on our deck remains a mystery. It’s wings were covered in early morning dew so I brought it indoors to dry off.  These photos were taken later this afternoon. We don’t normally see many dragonflies around the property, certainly none as big as this. (Approximately 7cm in length with a wingspan of 10cm.)

Prior to posting this I did a little searching in the hope I could identify this amazing insect but no joy.

If you can help to identify this dragonfly it would be greatly appreciated.

Favourite Quotes:

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly. Buckminster Fuller