mastodon - Link to source

Here are some baby birds I've seen this week, all in and around Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ.

There's baby Canada geese along Sparks Road (the first time I've seen baby geese in this area of the city): inaturalist.nz/observations/32…

There's teeny baby ring-necked pheasants running across McDrurys Road: inaturalist.nz/observations/32…

There's grey teal ducklings with parents on an emphemeral creek along Robinsons Road (the first time I've seen baby grey teal here in the 22 years I've been biking this road to work): inaturalist.nz/observations/32…

And, there's teeny baby California quail running across Latters Spur track: inaturalist.nz/observations/32…

Of these, only the grey teal are NZ natives.

#birds #nz #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #iNaturalist

A photo of young yellow goslings of Canada geese, next to two adult birds.
A photo of three tiny little baby birds with long legs dashing across a road. These are ring-necked pheasants and a car saw them and stopped to wait for them to cross (following their mother).
Two grey-brown adult ducks with red eyes, on a pond, with a group of young grey-brown ducklings. These are NZ grey teal.
A photo of two tiny speckled baby birds running across a gravel path. These are California quails.

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) observed by Jon Sullivan

Ring-necked Pheasant from Selwyn, Canterbury, New Zealand on November 20, 2025 at 09:47 AM by Jon Sullivan. They followed their mother across the road.
iNaturalist NZ
#birds #nz #inaturalist #otautahi #christchurch
in reply to Jon Sullivan

mastodon - Link to source

Jon Sullivan

Here's another family of baby birds from my travels this week. It's a female Pāpango / NZ scaup with seven ducklings (scauplings?).

I saw them on the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River on my bike ride home from work yesterday.

I briefly stopped to get better photos and the longer I stayed the fewer scauplings there were to see. They're diving ducks, after all. 😀

inaturalist.nz/observations/32…

#birds #nz #ducks #iNaturalistNZ

The first in a sequence of photos I took of a female scaup (a small brown diving duck) with her seven smaller mottled brown ducklings, all swimming on the river.
The second of my photos of a female scaup (a small brown diving duck) with her smaller mottled brown ducklings, all swimming on the river. Now there are six ducklings, as one has dived underwater.
The third of my photos of a female scaup (a small brown diving duck) with her smaller mottled brown ducklings, all swimming on the river. Now there are only four ducklings, as the other three have dived underwater.
The fourth of my photos of a female scaup (a small brown diving duck) with her smaller mottled brown ducklings, all swimming on the river. Now there are only three ducklings, as the other four have dived underwater. The mother stayed on the water watching me. I let them be after this.

Pāpango (New Zealand Scaup) (Aythya novaeseelandiae) observed by Jon Sullivan

New Zealand Scaup from Christchurch including Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, New Zealand on November 21, 2025 at 06:36 PM by Jon Sullivan. Mother scaup with seven ducklings.
iNaturalist NZ
#birds #nz #ducks #iNaturalistNZ
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
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