Muriwai: Gannets and Surf
A corner of the stack of Motutara Island, Muriwai (map), seen from the northern viewing platform. The gannets are back in force, preparing for the breeding season. Serendipitously, a surfer glides into the picture in Maori Bay, a popular spot for surfing.
Gannets reside in the Muriwai breeding colony for about 9 months, starting late July or early August, with the last birds gone late April. In our winter they holiday in Australia.
Impressions of Last Sunday's Avondale Market
The CityDailyPhoto theme for September is “Open Air Market”. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants. My regular Wednesday theme of painted boxes will resume next week.
My choice is the Avondale Sunday Market, which attracts up to 20,000 people to Ash Street, Avondale, in the grounds of the Avondale Racecourse. Buyers and sellers of many different ethnicities make this a colourful affair. Not to mention the goods on offer, from produce to fresh fish, DVDs to bric-a-brac, food stalls (“we have more than enough food venders on the grounds sorry” says the website, deterring any new would-be food merchants) and coffee carts, tools and garden plants, flowers, and, and, and… Above is a round-up of last Sunday’s pictures. Of course there were earlier posts from this market on this blog.
From their website: “The Avondale Market is open EVERY Sunday (rain, Hail, or Public Holidays). It’s open from 6 am thought to 12 lunch time.”
Two Black-backed Gulls
On my recent visit to the gannet colony at Muriwai I also caught this finely choreographed display of two black backed gulls (Larus dominicanus) screeching in unison at the edge of the nesting platform of the gannets. Looking up from Flat Rock.
Taking Off
In a moment this bird will be gliding from the height of the nesting platform – Australasian Gannets (morus serrator) have a breeding colony at Muriwai. For the next 8 months or so, they will be here, before flying off again to Australia. Clumsy as they are on land, they are elegant fliers and amazing divers.
Artful Contortions (Phormium Leaf)
For more black and white images check out Dragonstar’s Weekend in Black and White.
This is a leaf of a dwarf cultivar of NZ Flax (phormium tenax, probably ‘surfer’ or ‘elfin’). I found it in a clump of somewhat overgrown vegetation in our garden. Some of the leaves of that plant and several others were quite misshapen, but this one was the most extreme, and just beautiful. I think that the twists and twirls are the result of insect activity (maybe mites), interfering with the normal growth process. If anybody can shed more light on this, I would be very interested. (The whole curly part is about 3-4cm.)
An expert told me that this is an instance of fasciation — fascinating!
The images date back several years, and I have not seen much of this phenomenon in recent times. But I like the top picture a lot (it is a natural sepia toning anyway, so a good candidate for black and white), and the story is intriguing. Three more examples below.
Swans at Karekare
The synchronized swimming of swans is a thing of beauty and elegance. Seen in the wetlands near Karekare Beach.
Find more weekend reflections at James’ Newtown Area Photo.
From Waikowhai Lookout
The view from Waikowhai Lookout over the Manukau Harbour towards Ambury Farm Park and the volcanic Mangere Mountain.
Check out the Manukau Coastal Walks.
A Skywatch Friday photo. More Skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!
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