Duckies' lunch

Duckies' lunch

Enjoying a family picnic

Kereru

Kereru

Waiting for her lunch

Lunchtime walk

Scenes I encountered on today's lunchtime walk.

Yesterday, this monkey was lying on the ground. Today he was hanging off a lamp post. I hope there is nothing sinister going on ...

Giant daisies - my favourite summer flower.

A splash of red peeping through.

A friendly creature on someone's garage wall.

Paddling their way through summer.

This pussy cat was more interested in rubbing up against me than being in a photo. No matter how quickly I moved, he still got to me before I could snap his picture!

Pickles

Pickles

This is Pickles. He is a sulphur crested cockatoo and lives at the Angus Inn in Lower Hutt. Pickles is 27 years old and greeted me by saying, "Hello, Pickles!". He is absolutely beautiful! We know of another cockatoo called Pickles who is 26 and also lives in Lower Hutt but apparently it's just a pleasant coincidence.

Duckies

Baby ducklings a few weeks ago

The babies are now teenagers!

Day 240 - Afternoon nap

Afternoon nap

Seagulls taking some time out

Day 236 - Bird sculpture

Bird sculpture

Nga Manu Nature Reserve

Day 195 - Santina's window

Santina's window

This is one of Santina's favourite spots: the bathroom window. She sometimes jumps out of it and flies around to the back door ... but it's not always open. Usually someone notices her missing (after a while) or sees her trying to perch on the adjacent laundry window. Once she has been let in again, she promptly returns to "her" bathroom. It seems like a great game for a pigeon to play.

Day 161 - Sunbathing Santina

Sunbathing Santina

Santina loves the sun. This is the first time I have ever seen her try to spread out both wings to catch those precious rays. If you look closely behind her neck you will see that, at certain angles, the sun reflects the light on her black feathers, giving off a shiny pink or green glean.

Day 159 - Seagull

Seagull

Unsuccessfully appealing for food

Day 149 - Sunbathing pigeon

Sunbathing pigeon

You've heard of the sunbathing cat? Well, birds like to catch rays sometimes, too. Santina joined me for a bit of sunshine as I was lying in the sun reading a book. Luckily I had my phone close by so I could sneak a photo of her before she noticed.

Day 134 - Tui

Tui

Singing his heart out

Day 127 - Pigeon thief

 

 

Pigeon thief

Caught in the act!

As I was working in the lounge, I spotted a pigeon running across the floor with my silver bangle in her mouth! I quickly chased her with the camera on my phone (so excuse the quality of the pictures) to find out where she planned on putting it. Santina occasionally collects up goodies from around the house when she decides it's time to nest. Her 'nest' is in the corner of the bathroom, where she can hang out with her 'pigeon friends' in the mirror. The bangle is now back in my room with the rest of my jewellery, and Santina's mission has become, once again, fruitless.

Day 118 - Budgie vacuum cleaner

Budgie vacuum cleaner

After throwing most of his food around, then refusing to eat almost anything else presented to him, Enrico the budgie now decides to eat the rubbish he threw onto the floor, just as it was about to be swept up. And they say kids are fussy eaters!

Day 110 - Forbidden territory

Forbidden territory

Santina knows she is not allowed on top of the kitchen cabinets. Here, she tries unsuccessfully to blend in with the background and hope that no-one notices her.

Day 103 - Cockatoo

Cockatoo
A new style of hat?

Day 94 - Santina's tisses

Santina's tissues

Good luck trying to grab a tissue out of the box from beneath her! This is one of Santina's favourite spots - by the bathroom mirror, where she gets to hang out with all her other 'pigeon friends'. As you can see from the carpet of feathers surrounding the tissue box, Santina has started moulting for summer, shedding her beautiful, thick coat and preparing to slip into something lighter for the silly season.

Day 79 - Special delivery

Special delivery
Santina makes herself comfortable

Day 74 - House sparrow

House sparrow
Looking for his next snack

Day 70 - Happy hen

Fridge magnet

Pencilled hamburg happy hen

I love the pencilled hamburg design of this happy hen. I bought the magnet when I visited the Happy Hens outlet in Dunedin last year. I would love a set of the ceramic hens in this design when I have a kitchen big enough to make their home. In the meantime, my fridge magnet is a lovely reminder and will have to suffice.