Friday Feathered Friend
This week we again feature words and a picture from Louise Thomas, who recently ventured to Whanganui.
"The Chief Porter and I have been hunting the Nankeen Night Heron for some time. Randomly calling into Ūpokongaro to the spot “Behind the Door on 4” where others before us have clocked the birds, but, for us, with no success. On Monday we were crest fallen to find the café shut, but thought we would head a little way up Makirikiri Valley Road and drop down into the gulley and scout along the stream that runs into the Whanganui River at Ūpokongaro.
The recent rain had made the stream brown and swollen, water was lapping up onto the shelf with the slight track covered in wandering willy (tradescentia). It was wet, slippery, and muddy and our pants were wet up to the knees just walking through the undergrowth. We were buzzed by fantails and wax-eyes, but saw nothing of the night herons behind the area where the café is.
We pushed a little further upstream, straddling rotten logs which crumbled under our feet and slipping in the thick wet weed. I was about to call time of death on the operation, when the Chief Porter spotted a creamy patch against the dark tangled trees overhanging the stream. It was like magic, three night herons materialised from the gloom, their bodies glowing like warm rich butterscotch.
All three had slicked back black hair, but one roosting in the tree, hunched over like an old man, also had two long thin white feathers waving down his back like crazy antennae. One was actively hunting in the stream, pulling at aquatic plants in the hope they might be tasty, the other perched above and moved along the branches quoorking encouragement about the activities below. Nankeen night heron (Nycticorax caledonicus)."
What's your favourite recipe for gooseberry?
Love gooseberries? Share your favourite way to enjoy them. We're looking for our readers' favourite family recipes for this delicious crop. Send yours to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the magazine, you will receive a free copy of our December 2024 issue.
Poll: How should Guy Fawkes be celebrated?
While it is a fun occasion, fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night has caused much conflict over the years, upsetting our pets and disrupting the sleep of neighbours.
How should we celebrate Guy Fawkes Night? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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28.5% With a city-wide public fireworks display
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20.3% Small fireworks displays in each community
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7.7% Keep it as is
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32.9% We shouldn't celebrate it!
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10.3% Anything but fireworks
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0.4% Other - I'll share below
Solve This Riddle or Be Left Scratching Your Head!
With pointed fangs, I sit and wait;
with piercing force, I crunch out fate.
I grab victims, proclaiming might,
and physically join with a single bite.
What am I?
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