The photo shows the vehicle with fishing rods, and also almost out of the photo at top left the drone carrying a line out. A fellow on the beach today was fishing in a very interesting way. He had a couple of rods and reels on the beach. To carry the line out to sea though he used a drone. He said he was fishing for gurnard, trevally or tāmure | snapper.
Large grey dappled moth. Hīhue or Convolvulus hawk moth. I was watering the garden in February 2020, when a grey ‘leaf’ on a flax stalk moved. On closer inspection I found a moth, about 5 cm long. An expert on the NZ Bug Identification Facebook group tells me this is a Convolvulus hawk moth: Agrius convolvuli or hīhue.
Today's the day, at least at our house, when all the [Monarch](https://www.nzbutterflies.org.nz/species/monarchs/the-universal-monarch/) chrysalises are releasing butterflies.
Lamprey (Geotria australis) being measured. Sometimes you notice one little snippet about Waikawa Beach in a larger article on the web:
one of New Zealand’s rare native fish Lamprey (Geotria australis) has been discovered in waterways like the Waikawa Stream and reaches of the Ōhura River in the Horizons Region.
This comes from a Horizons Regional Council article: DNA techniques reveal the full spectrum of river life. The article also says:
These elegant blue transparent creatures show up on the beach sometimes. They stand up in a kind of horn with a skirt around and a trailing blue ‘string’. It’s not a good idea to tangle with them as they can sting when alive, and even when dead. He aha tērā? What is that? Answer: it’s a Pacific man-o’-war also known as a Blue Bottle:
Pacific man-o’-war is not a jellyfish but a siphonophore, which differs from jellyfish in that it is not actually a single creature, but a colonial organism made up of many minute individuals called zooids.
Occasionally you’ll come across driftwood covered in waving stalks, each terminating in what looks like a soft shell with tentacles emerging. If you’re not a fan of horror movies it may be very unnerving. He aha tērā? What is that? Answer: it’s a Werewere | Gooseneck Barnacle:
This barnacle has a fleshy purpleish-brown narrow stalk with only 5 plates. The opening of this barnacle is lined with beautiful scarlet tissue.
You may find one or more of these hopping around your garden. It’s mainly brown with a green stripe down its back. You may hear it — its call is a kind of rawk rawk hmm hmm (or perhaps like a car that won’t start). He aha tērā? What is that?
Answer: it’s a Southern Bell Frog:
The Southern Bell Frog, Litoria raniformis, is the largest frog to be found in New Zealand with females reaching over 100mm.
This mammal looks so handsome with reddish-brown fur on its back and a white or cream coloured underbelly. It’s a vicious killer though, and devastating to birdlife. Unfortunately it’s common at Waikawa Beach — one Strathnaver resident has trapped nearly a dozen over the last few years. Others have lost hens or quail to this killer. He aha tērā? What is that?
Answer: it’s a Stoat: Stoats are ‘public enemy number one’ for New Zealand birds.
With thanks to the whitebaiter who allowed me to take a photo of their catch. These tiny water creatures are much sought after by people and birds in spring and early summer. They are most easily found in the river. He aha tērā? What is that? Answer: they are Whitebait
Whitebait are the juveniles of five species of galaxiidae …:
inanga, galaxias maculatus koaro, galaxias brevipinnis banded kokopu, galaxias fasciatus giant kokopu, galaxias argenteus shortjaw kōkopu, galaxias postvectis The larvae of these species are born in freshwater, swept out to sea with the tide and return to rivers and streams in spring as whitebait.
Sometimes in summer a Bush giant dragonfly finds its way into the house and then gets ‘stuck’ in a corner. I can cup my hands around it to take it outside to freedom. The other day I managed to ‘catch’ one in flight above the lake (Puna o te Ora) at the corner of Strathnaver Drive and Reay Mackay Grove.
These dragonflies are huge — you’ll definitely know when you see one!
I found this roughly 3 cm long insect on the garage wall on 16 December 2021. The Faceboook Invertebrate ID group IDed it for me.
Bush gadfly (Scaptia adrel):
Scaptia adrel has large, iridescent, reflective eyes and a prominent proboscis. There are two distinctive patches of white hairs on each side of its thorax just behind the wings and one white patch on the upper abdomen. Scaptia adrel is an important pollinator of native plants and native trees.
A dead pilot whale washed up on Waikawa Beach on 8 January 2010. There was a similar story at Foxton Beach where two whales washed ashore. See Dead pilot whales may be drifters | Stuff.co.nz. Dead pilot whale at Waikawa Beach, photographer unknown. This item was originally posted as Pilot Whale on the WBRA blog on 10 January 2010.