What a week it’s been. For me another of my seemingly endless trips to ER, this time with excruciating Kidney stones. Then yesterday, as many of you have no doubt heard, our biggest land earthquake ever measuring 5.9. It was felt in several other States. It was quite frightening and left me shaking, long after the rumbles and movement of the earth around me stilled. We were fortunate in a number of ways in that the overall damage was minimal and, probably thanks to lockdown, no-one was injured.
Unlike the 2011 Earthquake in New Zeland which caused a devastating amount of damage to the city of Christchurch from which they are still recovering. When I visited in 2019, I was surprised at how much damage remained with so little money to rebuild. One animal that has made the most of is the abandoned buildings the Black-billed gull who have chosen this half-demolished office block on Armagh Street in central Christchurch as a nesting site. This gull was once the most threatened gull species in the world but with some recovery, is now listed as “near Threatened”.
Many conservationists and bird loves are thrilled at having this special bird in the heart of the city but not so the developer as the birds presence is preventing development. Local cafe owners also dislike the birds being around as they "harass" diners for food. I hope the bird wins the stand -off in the long run but I am unsure of the current status of the site. It is pretty rare that an animal ever wins in these situations.
Unfortunately I am still dealing with alot of issues that make it hard to be on computer for long periods. Not going to bore you with all that but it is the reason for my sporadic Flickr work.
Hope everyone is safe and well and enjoying any freedoms you may have.
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