Spring Crop

Mount Torlesse  and oilseed rape

Stormy Sunrise

Rubicon Peak of Mount Torlesse 6.32 am

Back Peak and Otarama 6.34 am

Wintry Conditions

Back Peak and Otarama at 1.36 pm

More Fresh Snow

Torlesse Range from Springfield

 Yesterday's storm brought fresh snow to the mountains.

The Great Alpine Highway at the approach to Springfield.  On the left is Castle Hill Peak, the highest in the range at 1997 metres.  In the centre is The Gap, which is the distinguishing feature of the Torlesse Range when viewed from the Canterbury Plains.

Southern end of the Torlesse Range at 1.15pm

Moeraki Boulders

Moeraki Boulders

On a brief trip away from home I had the opportunity to visit the Moeraki Boulders.  They are a popular tourist stop situated on the Otago coast between Dunedin and Oamaru. (Wiki article) The boulders are huge rounded stones that have come from the sandstone cliff.  I have long been familiar with photos of the boulders, but I had not guessed the variety of their surfaces or the interesting formations revealed in the broken ones.  Apparently in the days before they were protected curious people blasted them.

Tourists exploring the boulders

Some are strangely textured

A shattered boulder

A boulder still emerging from the sandstone cliff

Fragments scattered on the beach.  The grey and rust area top right is the reef

Fresh Snow

Mount Torlesse at 8.46am

There was a new fall of snow overnight.  The clouds made shifting patterns of light on the mountains.  The bird is a southern black backed gull, one of a group of five that circled overhead.  The brownish patch on the wing suggests that it is a juvenile.

Starling

Mount Torlesse at 8.16am

Starling in breeding colours

Starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, are common here.  There are 5 or 6 pairs nesting around my house.  They are not a nuisance at all.  They don't make use of the bird feeders, even in very bad weather, and they don't flock.  Only after the chicks have fledged do I see a group of 20 or so.  They spend most of their time grazing in the fields, but they come home at night and roost near their nest sites.  The males have favourite perches where they say their piece.  Their song consists of clicks and squeaks, chortles and gurgles, and fair imitations of lambs bleating, blackbird, bellbird, fantail and a stick being dragged along a picket fence.