Sunshine....

I wasn't the only one down by the Kaiapoi River today, the red-billed gulls were there in numbers, quite liked this one with its ruffled feathers in the sunlight.

The most common gull seen around New Zealand's coastline are red-billed gulls. They have been dubbed the 'picnic gulls' and will readily approach any food hand outs in outdoor public eating spots, and often visit urban parks and sports fields. The birds are opportunists, taking advantage of any edible waste and, like black-backed gulls, are regularly seen circling rubbish dumps.

The gulls are attractive, with brilliant red legs, feet, bills and yellow eyes with red rings. Their outer primary feathers are white-tipped and when birds are resting this creates a polka-dot effect at the tail. The birds flock, often in thousands, when roosting, nesting and feeding and are known to rob eggs from nearby nests in their colonies, sometimes as a result of territorial struggles.

Another frosty morning followed by a calm and mild day with a little heat in the sun, it was almost spring-like but I'm probably being too hopeful.

Backblip - Meeting of Rivers - My last image of my time in Gisborne researching my ancestry.

Night off cooking tea, Daughter A has offered to cook - aren't I lucky. A wholegrain pasta dish with salmon and spinach - sounds delicious!

Great start to the week and our middle winter month - Happy Monday everyone :)