Paradise Shelduck - female
A great day at the Northern Royal Albatross colony near Dunedin, we spotted a few but didn't manage a good picture. We did a tour to the lookout post - in a group of 10. When booking there was an option to look at an 'Armstrong disappearing gun' with the same guide, only J and I had booked for this and after our guide ushered the rest on their way an albatross flew into view, the first one of the day for us.
Both tours proved to be informative, again the guide was knowledgeable and easy to listen to.
Later we walked down to the sea and after a few minutes noticed four fur seals lounging on the other side of the fence. A captivating scene. It was down here a pair of Paradise shelduck stood surveying the visitors. Returning to the car park we spotted a number of albatross flying in, magnificent!
The extra show the outline of the albatross and a pair of gulls sleeping on the roof of a car.
And a fur seal
From the Internet: At the entrance to the Otago Harbour the peninsula rises to Taiaroa Head, home to a breeding colony of northern royal albatross, the only colony of albatross to be found on an inhabited mainland. The viewing centre for the albatross colony is one of the peninsula's main ecotourism attractions, along with other wildlife such as seals and yellow-eyed penguins. Most of the Otago Peninsula is freehold farming land, with increasing numbers of small holdings or lifestyle blocks. Some biodiversity sites such as Taiaroa Head are managed as sanctuaries for wildlife. Many species of seabirds and waders in particular may be found around the tidal inlets, including spoonbills, plovers, and herons.
Armstrong Disappearing Gun
This six inch gun, the first successful breechloader, is mounted on a hydro-pneumatic carriage, which represented the latest in technology in 1886. Sited atop Taiaroa Head in an underground circular gun pit, it was aimed while below ground, then raised, fired and returned back into the pit by the recoil for reloading. The gun was manufactured by W G Armstrong & Co at Elswick, near Newcastle on Tyne, England, and was tested in its present gun site in June 1889.
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