Wife and I have just returned from a road trip around the east cape , up into the Ureweras.
We threw the tent and stuff so totally independent and stopped where we wanted.
Around the coast, where are the flocks of sea birds, gulls and black gulls?...sure had insects around the tent, a few here and there...
And the land bird life, on the coast and inland upto to the Ureweras..
We live in a town on the borders of southern Auckland.. a few trees staggered around at best.
We wake up to tui, have fan tails flitting around, the regular wood pidegen waffling past, wax eyes in the trees,.. Sparrows, thrushes, black birds, swallows .. all chirping away ..and the chirping of young in nests... a couple morepork way in the distance at night
We used to live bang in the middle of Manurewa 18 months ago.
A few trees around.. A flock of 1/2 doz tui ... occasional wood pidgen.. a morepork taken residence at night, 4 pair fan tails, thrushes and black birds...wax eyes and even a couple visits by a kaka, a flock rosella would pass thru morning and evening
Hit the remote wilds of the Nth island..
no tuis, 1 pair of wood pidgen, only a couple couple sparrows in the camping ground, couple thrush...few ducks, only 1 pair fan tails in the bush.. no morepork
And the silence was so silent it was disturbing.
Last time I was up in the Ureweras back in the early 70s , one had trouble hearing it was so noisy with birds at times.
Weka would come into the campsite...fan tails everywhere, tui, wood pidgen, bell birds , the odd kakariki with its machine gun call.. insects , good and bad everywhere...
And We hear about recovery of bird population...
Where these ppl who tell us about "recovery" actually born in the 70s , let alone walked or hunted our bush back then?
Recovery from what?
And it was alive populated even back in the 1920s thru to the 60s, into the 70s going on conservations to my parents, uncles, grand parents , and others, people who have long passed away...
What in the (sry here moderators) F**** has happened ?
Damn even the cycaders where few and far between.. as I type in my office back home they are far noisier
It was a great trip, even catching dinner on my boat sb rod off the beach...
but the silence of the bush everywhere was devastating