Te Henga recipe

 

breathe in the salty air
the ocean weathered sand
the stuttering dotterels
the pink light shifting
through dark clouds
the concerto of waves
the cantata of sea birds
the not-a-soul in sight

carry home and breathe in beauty
when your legs fail
and the world is out of tune

 

Paula Green

Voting for NZ Bird of the Year closes today at 5pm. You can vote here.

So many of our birds are under threat for all kinds of reasons. I love Forest & Bird’s annual initiative to bring the birds in Aotearoa into sharper focus. I have so many favourites. Living in an expansive bush clearing a skip and hop from the Tasman Sea, we are rich in bird life. So special. In the end, I voted for the dotterel at Te Henga – so precious. The locals are so protective, yet some visitors still ignore the signs and set their unleashed dogs running outside the designated area. Really scary as it is always a miracle when fledglings not only arrive but survive.