The quintessential New Zealand bedtime activity

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NIKON D70 - 317 sec, f7.1 at 70mm

Last night after Gabba and I got into bed and turned the light out, (I bet you are wondering where I'm going with this huh?), a Morepork started calling somewhere outside in the valley below us.

I made Gabba get out of bed and open the window so that we could hear him better. I think listening to a Morepork while snuggled up in bed is one of life's truly great experiences. Especially if they are close by. Their call is loud and spooky and lonely and rare enough to make it really special.

If you want to hear what the little buggers sound like, there is a Morepork mp3 here.

The Photo

For the third time this week I was back out taking photos. This photo was the first one I took tonight. It was kind of the throw away shot to gauge the light for how long the exposure needed to be and at what f stop, given I was shooting fully manual. Unfortunately the following shots were all crap and I liked this one best anyway. It's Rangitoto (again) along with a log poking out of the water just before high tide at the north end of Long Bay. Click the map button below to see where I was or if you want to get the same photo yourself.

Tonight's inspiration came from here.

Map of the photo location
Post Meta

Posted: Friday, 24 November, 2006 22:44

Captured: 2006:11:24 20:53:00

Add your own comment

  • Simple and beautiful! :-)
    tetsu - Saturday, 25 November, 2006 1:40
  • Now, who can resist reading a blog post with a subject line like that!?! Great photo, mate . . . and I'm going to listen to the Morepork (there's a story in that name, surely?) MP3 now . . .
    Jody - Saturday, 25 November, 2006 8:01
  • Nice photo man, looks a bit like ice.
    Daniel - Saturday, 25 November, 2006 12:12
  • we used to have a morepork in the tree behind our house when we lived in the Bay of Islands. He would call out to another morepork across the bay. I actually saw it one night, they are quite small birds.
    Ma - Saturday, 25 November, 2006 13:05
  • I've never seen one.
    Dave - Saturday, 25 November, 2006 13:35
  • Beautiful Picture,it looks like as if it's frozen in time. Yes,the Morepork has a lonely call,I hear it every night from the bush at the back of where I live. My mother never liked to hear the sound of a Morepork,she said it was a sign someone was about to die
    Nova - Saturday, 25 November, 2006 16:50
  • I love this shot. The colour gives the shot a calming feel. I like how it's more blue than gray. Nice one!!
    Darren - Saturday, 25 November, 2006 18:19
  • Moreporks are funny. They do sort of make a sound like their name (more pork, more pork!) and I guess that is the story behind it. http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/ruru.html Just one of the freaky finds you'll get in good 'ol NZ
    mike - Monday, 27 November, 2006 11:06
  • Thats a pretty interesting effect, I want one against a rocky shore. We used to have moreporks alot in ahuroa. I remember when I was young we searched for kiwi's down in south island I think with some conservationist, now they make a rare noise.
    James - Tuesday, 28 November, 2006 9:35

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