What
Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Fewer than last year visible - maybe 3-4 of each sex total. Still great to see them!
Photos / Sounds
What
Genus ByssomeruliusObserver
emma_curtinDescription
Growing on a dead gorse stem at the side of a bike track near McGouns
What
Plants (Kingdom Plantae)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
We found this in a sample of pond water from the Dunedin area. Photo taken down microscope at (I think) 40x magnification. It’s green so I assume plant/algae? Or maybe fungal spore? Never seen anything like it!
Photos / Sounds
What
Genus GibellulaObserver
emma_curtinDescription
Fungified spider!! James Crofts-Bennet thinks the spider is Cycloctenus. iNat suggested the fungus species, which seems likely. Found on a tree in the redwoods area of Ross Creek.
Photos / Sounds
What
Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
A HUGE swarm of these, never seen anything like it! Thousands flying and congregating and lots of different colour variations present. Really fantastic to see :)
Photos / Sounds
What
Shiny Film Liverwort (Hymenophyton flabellatum)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Growing in a damp spot beside the track
Photos / Sounds
What
Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Sixteen ducks, 6 males and 10 females! All sitting in the shade and occasionally grazing. These are still listed as 'Rare Vagrants' in NZ bird books, and at the time of posting this, it is only the fifth observation in NZ listed on iNat!
Photos / Sounds
What
Sapphire Tower (Puya alpestris)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Never seen blue/green flowers before! Amazing
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What
Something...Observer
emma_curtinDescription
I have no idea what these are! Some sort of gall? Mud dauber wasp nests? Found in a clump of dead sticks in replanted native vegetation beside a grass track.
Photos / Sounds
What
Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Teeny tiny little moth! On the outside of the window, so tricky to get a decent image. Finger for scale
Photos / Sounds
What
Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Neat to see a few of these in urban areas!
Photos / Sounds
What
Rough Strawberry Root Weevil (Otiorhynchus rugosostriatus)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Large weevil found in the bathroom. Dark reddish-brown elytra, black head.
Photos / Sounds
What
Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Family of five - two adults and three youngsters
Photos / Sounds
What
Genus CantuariaObserver
emma_curtinDescription
Found on the cycleway between Pohara and Clifton. Nearest vegetation farmland. A second one found in the same spot the next day. Unusual for the area?
Photos / Sounds
What
Eudonia legnotaObserver
emma_curtinDescription
On a non-native tree in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens. Supremely well camouflaged, I only saw it because it moved!
Photos / Sounds
What
New Zealand Red Admiral (Vanessa gonerilla ssp. gonerilla)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
In the hedge beside the medical centre. With bonus hoverfly!
Photos / Sounds
What
Pūriri (Vitex lucens)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Unusual to see a puriri tree in Dunedin, but this one appears to be thriving!
Photos / Sounds
What
Cups (Genus Peziza)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Looks a bit like a birds nest fungus? But I have no idea! Growing against a wall in a highly cultivated garden of shop-bought compost and introduced plants. Found after several days of heavy rain
Photos / Sounds
What
Rhomphaea urquhartiObserver
emma_curtinDescription
Found in our house, possibly came in with firewood. Not at all sure about ID, but looks a lot like Romphaea sp. to me. Body 3mm long. It tucks its legs up against its body when startled and drops to the ground.
Thanks to James Crofts-Bennett who says this is Romphaea urquharti 😊
Photos / Sounds
What
Barracouta (Thyrsites atun)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Several of these cruising around the inlet. We often see the tips of their tails break the water as they swim
What
Hula Skirt Siphonophore (Physophora hydrostatica)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Single jellyfish washed up at low tide. About 4cm long
Photos / Sounds
What
Coral Lichen (Pulchrocladia retipora)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Beautiful lichen, one of only two or three on a rocky outcrop at the edge of Lake Mahinerangi
What
Karoro (Black-backed Gull) (Larus dominicanus ssp. dominicanus)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Juvenile/nestling still with downy feathers on the roof of the Zoology Department’s Marples building
What
Crimson Jelly (Turritopsis rubra)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Tiny, about 4mm diameter. In a rock pool beside the Murrays Bay - Mairangi Bay coastal track. It was the only one that we could see in the area. Actively swimming around. Very cute!
Photos / Sounds
What
Allseed (Polycarpon tetraphyllum)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Next to the summit track in open scoria area, not far from the wharf. A couple of these in the same spot. Location approximate.
Photos / Sounds
What
Dwarf Mistletoe (Korthalsella lindsayi)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Quite a few of these along the Portobello peninsula track. Most seemed to be flowering.
Photos / Sounds
What
Little Owl (Athene noctua)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
I think these are owl pellets. Found underneath an Olearia bush on the Flagstaff track. Would appreciate other people’s thoughts about this!
Photos / Sounds
What
Stereum versicolorObserver
emma_curtinDescription
Not sure about ID. Found on rotting log beside track somewhere on the Taieri Gorge track
Photos / Sounds
What
Mikoikoi (Libertia ixioides)Observer
emma_curtinDescription
Somewhere on the first half of the Taieri Gorge track. In native bush. Several of these in a patch but only one flowering