Journal archives for October 2017

October 8, 2017

First Full Blue Fleet NZ Record 11 February 2016

Our first full blue fleet record on Nature Watch is the 11 February 2016.

Read all about it in the journal post The Blue Fleet Has Landed at Otaipango

Posted on October 8, 2017 02:01 AM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 0 comments | Leave a comment

The Blue Fleet

The blue fleet is a term coined by Sir Alistair Hardy to describe a community of creatures that float around in the oceans including the bluebottles, sea swallows, violet snails, blue buttons and by the wind sailors. Most people who frequent a beach would have come across at least some of them, probably the bluebottles or the by the wind sailors.

All of these creatures float around on the oceans with the sea swallows feeding on most of them. The venom of the blue bottles do not affect the sea swallows as they eat the tentacles and use the toxins as their own defense, making them more dangerous than the blue bottles!

This project only allows the following obs to be added

  • Physalia physalis - Blue bottle
  • Porpita porpita - Blue button
  • Glaucus atlanticus - Sea swallow
  • Velella velella - By the wind sailor
  • Janthina janthina - violet sea snail
  • Recluzia rollandiana

The banner for this project shows all of these critters.

Posted on October 8, 2017 02:07 AM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 9 comments | Leave a comment

October 11, 2017

New Marine Projects to Join

With more and more time being spent at the beach soon I have created a couple more marine projects that you may like to join :)

Marine Eggs NZ
This is a place where we can add all of our obs of marine eggs and cases like mollusc eggs or fish eggs. I have added what I could find, but naturally add any of yours that I have missed :)

Blue Fleet Monitoring NZ
Put all of your bluebottles, by the wind sailors, Janthina janthina - voilet snail shells and other Blue Fleet members here so we can see what the range is.

So far bluebottles are from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island and the by the wind sailors are North and South Island. The next one is Janthina janthina which only shows records to just past Westport with none from around Wellington or up the Kapiti Coast yet.

Posted on October 11, 2017 12:10 PM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 0 comments | Leave a comment

Blue Fleet Challange - Find Any 3 in 1 Day

While adding the blue fleet species I saw an interesting comment on one obs Fun, so 3 of the Blue Fleet in the one little bay on the same day so I thought I would highlight that as a fun challange for us!

I often see the blue bottles and by the wind sailors on one day and the next one with the most obs is the Violet Sea-Snail (Janthina janthina) so that would probably be the easiest to find when you see the other 2! The Janthina janthina on the banner is a live one so they probably will not look like that.

When you do find any 3 in 1 day, add that info in the comments of this post so we all know :)

Happy hunting!

Posted on October 11, 2017 12:52 PM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 3 comments | Leave a comment

Exploring Aquarium WA

Finally homeward bound on Sunday so my son took me to the Aquarium WA which is like Kelly Tarltons - although the last time I was there was in the 80's. I have uploaded all of the obs and given the hightlists below as well as a link so that you will be able to view them in you are using NW.

Seeing all of the coral was amazing as we do not have that around our waters.

View the corals here

In the walk through tank watching the sharks and rays swim overhead was inspiring!
Sharks and Rays here

There is a really good story about a wheke - octopus here

The most amazing sea creature was the leafy seadragon - I have added him as well as the blue ringed octopus in the photos below which are clickable and will take you striaght to the obs.

View all here

Posted on October 11, 2017 01:11 PM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 8 observations | 2 comments | Leave a comment

October 14, 2017

Mass Washups of By the Wind Sailors

It seems that at the moment there are mass washups of By the Wind Sailors on the West Coast of New Zealand.

One week to travel from Foxton to Rahotu or a different event?

13 October 2017, NZ Herald reports of lots in Greymouth but the article does not say what day this occured.

There is also a Project Assessment Tool buried in here that I have been playing with

Feel free to add any comments to help us keep track of the Blue Fleet :)

Posted on October 14, 2017 08:05 AM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 0 comments | Leave a comment

October 21, 2017

Keep and Eye Out For Cyanea rosea and Flabelligera bicolor

Cyanea rosea has washed up around Wellington and there are only 2 obs for this so something new to look out for.

 
 
Flabelligera bicolor has been found again - a total of 3 obs now. Two have been found in the real far north on the east coast and the most recent one on the west coast in New Plymouth.

Happy Hunting!

Posted on October 21, 2017 02:33 AM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 1 comment | Leave a comment

October 25, 2017

Back Home to My Stressful Life

After five and a half months away I am finally home again where I can now see my profile photo in real life, instead of looking at the photo and dreaming of being back to the wonderland below!

Every single day I have to sit on my stressful north facing deck, listen to the roar of the surf (and not the sound of vehicles), look over the bush and ocean (and not at the neightbours houses and fences), smell the salt in the air (and not car fumes) and decide what I am going to do for the day.

And becasue I have been away for so long there are so many places to go and decisions to make each day. Do I go to the beach - but where on the beach should I go? Into one of the 4 main guts, or out onto the mid tide reef? Then there are the exposed ocean rocks which have different life than the rocks protected by the reef as well as the rocks between the guts or the main rock pool area or into the lagoon or past there to the boulder beach. Then there are the other 2 beaches close to here as well where I spend quite a bit of time. Oh the stress of where to go!

But wait, there's more! If the tides are not right should I go for a walk - but where? Along the coastal cliff walk or up the escarpment? Or the many tracks in my own place, or the neighbours place? Decisions, decisions!

And none of this takes into account the places further afield that I often go to, like Cape Reinga, and the other beaches up that way, or out to the west coast.

Then there is the work to be down around home, chain sawing, slashing, mulching, ripping out invasive pest weeds, shooting other pests and track clearing which has to all be fitted in around wandering the beach and the land.

Below are some of the flora and fauna I have already seen since being home - but I have not even covered 25% of all the places I need to revisit.

So spare a thought for me, especially if you have 5 stress free days of knowing what to do and only have to make decisions on what to do in the weekend. Not everyone has the luxury of your stress free life and this is a hard life, but someone has to live it! LOL

Posted on October 25, 2017 09:26 PM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 12 observations | 0 comments | Leave a comment

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