So I jumped at the opportunity to tell you about the greater black backed tern I saw with the herring gulls this morning.

I have seen a single tern in late summer before and maybe this was one of them, but today I had the opportunity to identify this one. All the other times they were flying and I didn't have my book handy.

There is a bridge we cross going to work with lights on it. Often there will be a gull standing on each one and I look for them when we pass by. I call it Gull Hotel and sometimes I'll mention there is a vacancy or not. So today there was this larger gull-like bird but black on it's back. Luckily I had the book beside me and identified it quickly. Probably you maritimers see terns all the time and it won't impress you.

So I welcome anyone who cares to post here or on the nature site.
For my birthday I was given a neat book about Canterbury, and I look forward to sharing it.

I loved your post Belle, thanks, and welcome back!

BELLE, I think terns are interesting birds. I'm not good at the official identification of birds, and I have no idea if the g. black-backed one ever graces our waters, but I have lived close to the sea at times, and there have been all sorts of fascinating avian visitors.

Your description of the bridge made me laugh. I was driving across a long bridge in my city - a fair distance away, and near a coastal suburb. I thought they'd decorated the lamp posts with statues, until one of them preened itself! Every lamp post had a great big pelican perched neatly on it!

Your post has reminded me that last week I saw a new bird in my front yard. There were two, actually. They were just a bit smaller than a pigeon, had greenish-grey wings, a grey underbelly, and splashes of red over their eyes and cheeks. They were plucking and eating the petals off the flowers on some sort of native fig tree I have growing. Other birds do this, too. It must be the means of pollinating it, because it doesn't harm the fruit. I've never seen birds eat petals before I moved here. I'll try to find out what these birds were, as I've never seen them before, and they were very talky, busy creatures that attracted my attention. It IS exciting when you see a creature new to you or your area, isn't it?

I was walking the dogs 7am this morning whem I came upon a blackbird huddled on a berm. I told my dogs to 'sit', and approached it. As it tried to run I realized it had a problem with a leg. I was able to scoop it up with one hand and put it in the plastic shopping bag I was carrying, turn tail and walk back home, scoping up a plum that the birds had been eating.Installed in the spare cage, it did enjoy the plum until I took it to the Animal and Bird Hospital on the way to get my cast changed.
Wonderful to be able to rescue it, as I had made other plans for my morning walk that didn't work out.

On our Estuary we have Caspian terns from down the bottom of the Island.

I loved the description of the birds you saw, sound real pretty.

Thanks for your good wishes. I don't recommend pulling the hose backwards,gets one into unexpected trouble!

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A berm is the strip of grass along the footpath 8 ft wide and the length of your frontage, which is owned by the City Council, but for which the owner of the property is expected to maintain.
It very often has a tree planted on it

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Here in my part of states its called a median strip. Handled the same way as in NZ. It never fails that you plant something beautiful there and along comes the city, tearing it up for a sewer project. So most homeowners just leave it grassy.

Amelia

Under my tree I built a rockery and planted grasses and suculents.No more weeding.