Heron

Our house is not really that far from the centre of the city. However, when we moved here, my son commented "I pass cows on the way home, it's not Christchurch!".
And yes it is true, we are in some ways quite detached from the rest of the city. At the foot of the hill, at the entrance to the subdivision, there is quite a rural area of flat paddocks. Christchurch is desperate for more good housing land since the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, however this land probably won't be built on any time soon as it is only a metre above sea level, despite being quite a way inland, and consequently very prone to flooding. Which makes it popular with birds. I frequently see pukekos here (also known as swamp hens), but it's only recently that I've spotted white faced herons and spur winged plovers.

So today I stopped to take photos, the pukekos were in the shade and came out rather blurry but I was pleased with the heron photos. No spur winged plovers today, but as a bonus there was a brown duck with a whole host of baby ducklings.

Deans Bush

I was going to post these photos with yesterday's post, but decided there were enough already.

The Riccarton Farmers' Market is held in the grounds of Riccarton House, a lovely historic home very near the centre of the city. It was owned by the Deans family, early settlers* who had the foresight to preserve a beautiful piece of bush (native forest) right near the heart of the city (probably thinking of future timber supplies considering that "conservation" wasn't a familiar concept back then).

I took a walk through this lovely area, which is now predator fenced, after looking at the market. It was difficult to photograph in the low light without a tripod, but I managed a few.


These kahikatea are the oldest trees there, about 300 - 600 years old.


I loved the way the shafts of sunlight lit up the damp air


Gnarled tree roots are another favourite of mine

*Very early settlers. The English arrived in the "First Four Ships" in 1850, only to discover that the Deans brothers, from Scotland, had arrived overland from elsewhere in New Zealand and settled on the best farming land!