Stilt & chick

No wonder the stilts were buzzing me as I walked onto the Boulder Bank!  When I was able to stop and look - really look - I saw this tiny wee thing tucked into a hollow in a rock, half covered by some dry seaweed that draped over the hollow.  Mum (or is this dad?) was never more than 4 or 5 metres away from the chick but on the other hand, didn't spend much time actually with it either.  I felt privileged to get this shot of them together.  Meanwhile, partner parent assumed a position on the nest (6 or 7 metres away from bubsy's protective rock)  which appears to have another egg  in it.  How much cuteness can the pond stand?!  Meanwhile, a few steps away on the seaward side of the Boulder Bank, a group of Terns were enjoying a spot of fishing and the occasional gull swept across the sky looking majestically pristine with her red lippy and matching boots (see extras).

In COVID news today, another 126 new cases, 49 in hospital and three in ICU.  Then at 5.30pm, an announcement that Northland has 2 cases whose line of transmission cannot be identified raising the very real possibility that a 'missing link' could well be unwittingly spreading the virus.  Given Northland's relatively low vaccination uptake (just 79% of the eligible population have had their first jab and 65% their second) the decision has been made to move the northern half of Northland into Level 3 from midnight tonight until at least midnight on Monday.