May: photos post

Posted by Patrick Lam on Sunday, June 1, 2025

I added 19 sets of pictures and processed 19 sets of pictures, so breaking even I guess? Still, I processed some quite big sets of pictures from the past and probably the backlog is smaller than it used to be.

Picture logs still available. As always, pictures are clickable to go to the full gallery.

  • Sets of pictures posted: May=19, April=9, March=2
  • Total pictures posted: May=755, April=352, March=54
  • Total pictures in selection pool: 2339 (April/March 1664)
  • Accept rate: 32% (min 15%, max 67%)
  • Pictures posted on this page: 127
Sun Showers and godwits artwork at AKL; Mont Tacos in Montreal (pas super); Treble Cone and view of Lake Wānaka; early morning view of Kapiti Island; Pacific Ocean and coastline; shirts at Papeete Market; sorting coffee beans; cat at O Belvedere; hanging out on the beach; bibliothèque mont-Royal; Montréal alleyways; Eurasian red squirrel eating; Alexander Nevalsky catedral; Estonian flag.

Just the birds:

(Peru): Two Inca terns; Humboldt penguin; ruddy turnstone with kelp; oystercatcher at work; (Canada): black-capped chickadee; (Aotearoa): two bellbirds; pīwakawaka; three kererū; (Estonia): two common wood pigeons; baby fieldfare.

Miscellaneous miscellany (January 2023)

Leaving Kelburn; the green line to the AKL international terminal; covered totem poles at YVR; approaching Greater Toronto Area; bikes on campus; snowy Montréal; Mont-Tremblant; Lac Tremblant sud; Silver Lake at Waterloo; my bike in the snow on campus; Kitchener Public Library.

Rotorua (August 2023)

Weekend in Rotorua for a tournament as usual.

On approach to ROT; pie choices at Patrick's Pies; sunrise in Rotorua; SM-66 podium; shiai; sunset over clouds.

Wānaka skiing (August 2023)

Still a couple of days to process from this trip, but here’s some progress. This was where we saw the kea that just didn’t have enough mass to move the log. I don’t know how to embed video, but I can link to the video. (Doesn’t work on my computer, but works on my phone.)

Ski patrol hut; Super Pipe the run; ridgeline; scheming kea; sunset over Lake Wānaka.

Kapiti Island (June 2024)

Kapiti Island really has a lot of birds and was the first place that we encountered a kākā in Aotearoa. In fact there was one that had figured out zippers. The overnights from Kapiti Island Nature Tours are pretty pricey, but I was reading my email and noticed an ad for 50% off, so we booked that for Winter 2024. We saw a lot of birds! Not really any new ones, but certainly some better pictures than I’d had previously. I just uploaded to iNaturalist and somehow those pictures got a surprisingly large number of IDs (6 or 7 in some cases).

Oh, and the staff were friendly and the food tasty as well. Maybe the room was not quite one would hope for given the price, but fine for us.

Bikes on the train; tractor for the Kapiti Island boat; dog in Paraparaumu waiting outside; tūī; tieke/saddleback; hihi; kōkako; kārearea; takahē; kākāriki.

Gisborne/Cooks Cove (December 2024)

One of the last places in Aotearoa we haven’t visited. It’s actually kind of far from Wellington, or anywhere, really.

The Beacon of Light Te Pourewa (somewhat phallic?); Cooks Cove; me; this is a monument, also sheep; Canada goose family; Captain Cook statue detail; navigation station on the Star of Canada; East Coast near Orongo Station.

Two days from Tahiti (December/January 2024)

Continuing to make piecemeal progress on the heap of trips, here are two days from Tahiti, though we really preferred Moorea (not yet shown).

At Papeete market; from above; tuna transaction; not pohutukawa; Mille Borne in Papeete; white frangipani flower; terraced housing; ocean view; seating at O Belvedere; me with free banana; rain breaking; MP with pineapple wine and oysters.

Lima (April 2025)

A trip to attend the IJF/PJC referee seminar in Lima; it’s the second time I’ve been to Peru, though we mostly skipped Lima last time. I also took a day trip to Paracas and saw some birds. They’re almost all different from those around here (whereever here is).

Boarding the Cruz del Sur bus; neotropic cormorant; gray gull; Guarda Costas boat; some tern; candelabra; Sally Lightfoot crab; Peruvian boobies; Belchers Gull; Peruvian Pelican; spirited sea lion conversation.
Mascots at Paracas; Playa Roja; bumps; barren-looking Paracas Reserve scenery; busy Playa La Mina; snowy egret; rufous-collared sparrow; ruddy turnstone; gray gull; pier; Paracas sign.

Waterloo/Rouge Urban National Park/Ottawa/Montreal (April 2025)

On my way to Estonia, I took a few detours: Brampton, Rouge Urban National Park, Ottawa, and Montreal.

Black-capped chickadee; chipping sparrow; tree swallow; creek at Rouge; well; towers of Parliament and cranes; La Baie d'Hudson; on the mat at Torii; at Rose Bloc; non-purple cross on Mont-Royal despite the death of a Pope.

Estonia (May 2025)

A trip for a research collaboration in Tartu, via Tallinn.

Alexander Nevsky Catedral; Estonian Parliament; R16 restaurant; catedral again; belvedere at sunset; Ukraine and Estonia; Cross of Liberty; Tallinn street design.
Peetri cemetary gate; hooded crow; fieldfare; interesting monument; fox with prey; church; peeling paint on brick; St. Georg's Church; icon; tourist area street.

The List

Making some progress but not visibly so.

2023:

  • [January] misc (2)
  • [March-July] various cellphone photos
  • [August] Ski trip (4)
  • [September] Wellington double rainbow, Zealandia (2)
  • [September] Waterloo/Calgary/Seattle/Squamish (8)
  • [October] Winnipeg, Scarborough and Sydney (3)
  • [November] Whitireia Park (1)
  • [November] Puke Ariki Traverse (1)
  • [November/December] Ouvea, Noumea Zoo, Riviere Bleue, Aquarium, Grandes Fougeres, Pic Malawi (6)
  • [December] Seattle, Montreal, Nelson (4)
  • Various (4)

2024:

  • Various (6)
  • [February] Travers-Sabine (7)
  • [June] Light Cycles
  • [June] Nairn St Cottage
  • [June/July] Old Ghost Road (6)
  • [July] Melbourne/Cairns (7)
  • [August] Catlins (3)
  • [September] Skyline
  • [September] Japan (6)
  • [October] Rotorua (1)
  • [October] Ontario
  • [October] Pasadena (5)
  • [November] Remutakas (1)
  • [November] Johnston Hill and Zealandia
  • [November] Gisborne (3)
  • [December] Cascade Saddle attempt (6)
  • [December/January] French Polynesia (8)

2025:

  • [January] Montreal
  • [January] Regina (almost none!)
  • [February] Japan (7)
  • [February/March] Kingston (2)
  • [March] Edmonton (4)
  • [March] Peterborough and Ottawa
  • [April] Lima (5)
  • [May] Canadian Nationals (4)
  • [May] Escarpment Track