Winter Wildlife

A week or so on from winter solstice, I am sure I am not alone in welcoming the prospect of longer days. The sun over this past week has been fantastic, and is slowly drying up the lakes left by the heavy rainfall a few weeks ago. A quick look at the rainfall in Christchurch to date shows that we are up almost 100mm on the average for this time of year.

The large amount of water lying about means that the horse paddocks have been visited by a series of water birds. White-faced herons pick their graceful way across the ponds, while spurwing plovers, pukeko, and paradise and mallard ducks have also put in an appearance. Watching a group of pukeko chase each other around in the snow a few weeks ago was a novelty, and quite funny as they skidded and splashed.

A common skink (photographed in summer).
Photo credit: L. Hawke

I went to replace my electric fence clips last week and found a very cold lizard curled up inside one of them. Reptiles such as this do not generate their own internal body heat, relying on the environment to provide them with warmth. They are extremely sluggish when cold, making them easy pickings for hedgehogs and birds. This particular lizard (a common skink) eventually had to be shaken out of the fence clip, as it was unwilling (or, more likely, too cold) to leave voluntarily. It crawled away to take refuge under the replaced car battery, and I imagine that it is still there, holding out for warmer days.