Friday Bird of the Week.
Hey Neighbourly folk, I am adding a new feature to Neighbourly every Friday. There are some amazing bird photographers in the region and I will be highlighting their best pictures.
This week's picture features my favourtite bird, the beautiful karearea (NZ Falcon). Simon Wooolf took the picture at Wrights Hill, Karori, and wrote an interesting account of the observation.
It settled itself down on a wooden structure, preened itself, and then dosed off! Then the action started.
Three, or four Welcome Swallows decided to dive bomb the Falcon! Now in flight, and in dive mode, Falcon's are the worlds fastest birds. This bird was obviously stationary. Swallows and Swifts feature in the Top Ten Fastest Birds too. The Karearea is a threatened species in NZ. Predators are man, and while breeding cats, ferrets etc, and believe it or not hedgehogs! I have never seen other bird species attack a karearea!
Normally our falcons are fearless. I have had them land a metre away from me. If threatened, and especially in breeding season they are not just fearless, but are brave, and ruthless. Even we humans will depart the scene rapidly if attacked!
Incidentally once awake the karearea took the aerial attacks in its stride and was pretty non-plussed!
I'm pretty rapt with the series of shots I gained, as the swallows were attacking at over 150kph. There was contact made on a couple of occasions, however I wasn't quick enough to catch that part of the action, even with my camera set a1/4000 sec and with my trusty Sigma 150 - 600 lens.
If you get the opportunity to observe these wonderful Taonga of our New Bush, do so. I have never been disappointed!
Simon Woolf.
Poll: How important is the ability to book a doctor’s appointment online?
Hi Neighbours
Here at The Doctors we would love to hear how you prefer to book your doctor’s appointments. With busy schedules, different people find different methods easier.
For some, online booking is very convenient, you can make an appointment anytime without needing to wait on the phone. Others still prefer calling the clinic and speaking to a real person, especially if they have specific questions about their visit.
Your feedback helps us understand what works best for our patients and how we can improve access to care.
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40.4% I prefer booking online whenever possible
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24% Online booking is helpful but not essential
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32.5% I prefer calling the clinic
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3.1% I didn’t know online booking was available
Poll: Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️
First introduced in New Zealand in 1927 with the passing of the Summer Time Act, it's what we know as 'Daylight Saving' and this year it ends on the first Sunday in April.
While we do get to sleep in this time around, some people would like to scrap the clock tinkering for good.
And why? Some evidence suggests the time changes are bad for our health as they mess with sleep patterns leading to short-term fatigue and affecting mood. Meanwhile the hour change is frustrating for farmers and a nightmare for getting the littlies to sleep. But what's your take?
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41% Yes - get rid of the clock changes
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57.3% No, I enjoy it
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
Don't overthink this riddle...
I have a silver sole
but no feet,
I make my living by bringing the heat.
What am I?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
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