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.
πͺ±π¦ When are you the most productive? ππ¦
The Post has been diving into our daily habits, and research suggests being an early bird or a night owl isnβt just a choiceβitβs biology! We all have that specific time when our brains finally "click" into gear.
This raises a big question for the modern workplace. To get the best out of everyone, should employers accommodate our natural body clocks? This idea is at the heart of the four-day work week and flexible scheduling movements.
We want to hear from you:
1. When does your brain "click" into gear?
2. Would a flexible (or shortened) schedule change the way you work?
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? π»π¨π
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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35.8% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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64.2% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
π Riddle me this, legends! π
He/She who makes it, sells it.
He/She who buys it, doesn't use it.
The user doesn't know they are using it.
What is it?
(Shezz from NgΔruawΔhia kindly provided this head-scratcher ... thanks, Shezz!)
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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