Friday Feathered Friend
As usual some lovely words and photo by Louise Thomas.
"There have been some epic grey warbler/riroriro (Gerygone igata) battles in the back garden the past couple of weeks – well, as epic as it gets for something that weighs in at 6g. What I assume are three males have been wittering away and chasing each other around quite a small area when they disagree about who won the singing competition – little flashes of aerodynamic grey fluff battling for supremacy of the Acer palmatum conveniently sandwiched between a camellia, a kowhai, and a robust trellis covered in potato vine they seem to like climbing in. Having grey warblers in permanent residence here in Woburn, Lower Hutt is quite new (at least in my garden), with them only having turned up earlier this year. I hope they don’t exhaust themselves before they get to do any actual courting. This was taken last week, it is pouring with rain today so a temporary cease fire has been called. Fingers crossed they nest here."
Poll: Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕
Wellington’s identity is built on its cafe culture, but with costs climbing, that culture is under pressure. We’ve seen the headlines about recent closures, and it’s a tough pill to swallow along with a $6+ coffee.
We all want our favourite spots to stay open, but we also have to balance our own budgets ⚖️
We want to know: How are you handling the "coffee math" in 2026? Are you still heading to your local for a chat and a caffeine fix, or has the cost of living changed your habits?
Keen to read more about "coffee math"? The Post has you covered.
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56.5% I avoid spending money on coffee
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34.8% I still indulge at my local cafe
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8.7% Irrelevant - coffee is not for me
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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