2024 in words, pictures, and movies
Read my other annual letters here.
I’m gradually getting caught up on my annual letters, which I used to send out just after the end of each year. 2024 was a radically different year for me and more than made up for the terrible year that preceded it.
January
We seem to get at least one ice storm every winter, and this one was especially intense. Everything was coated in a couple of inches of ice for several weeks. Without shoe spikes, it was not really possible to walk around outside. Driving was also pretty tricky even if you had the right car for the conditions.
The crows were getting a bit antsy after a few days, as they couldn’t forage for food on the frozen ground. So, they did some skating around for the nuts I brought them.
February
My annual letter wouldn’t be complete without a bunch of bird videos. First, a bit of flirting between Hazel and his potential new girlfriend, Jasmine.
And Kyle enjoying a spring bath.
March
We’ve lived in this extreme open-plan house for many years and have gradually been closing it off to turn it back into a normal home. Our final project was to close off the attic and Eric’s office, to add more privacy and so that sound and heating/cooling can be better controlled. These photos show the framing of the areas that used to be open and are now blissfully separated.
April
Went on several really nice hikes this month. The first was Rowena Crest, a favourite spot in the Columbia Gorge known for its wildflowers. Also did a challenging hike at Coyote Wall.
And then to Forest Park, adjacent to downtown Portland, which is especially lush in Spring.
May
Did a really amazing hike at Mount Saint Helens. A lesson learned here is that you shouldn’t cancel your plans if the weather forecast looks iffy. There was a forecast of a rainy, somewhat chilly, and cloudy day, so we weren’t sure whether it would affect visibility. But we decided to go anyway. There was hardly anyone there, so maybe everyone cancelled because of the weather forecast. It was just gorgeous there and we had the place mostly to ourselves. It was amazing to return to this area that I’ve not visited for more than 20 years.
Four years after ripping out our lawn and planting a native garden, things are looking really amazing.
June
I had planned a trip to New Zealand to do some volunteer work, but health issues postponed it for several years. But this year I finally made it! I was not feeling completely ready, but decided to do it anyway. I arrived in Wellington on June 2 and booked a return flight for December. Eric stayed back in Portland with plans to visit for a couple of months.
Mostly, I was getting settled, but I did get involved with a few groups such as Wellington Bird Rehabilitation Trust and Ngā Kaimanaaki o Te Waimapihi, a community group that does Toutouwai | North Island Robin monitoring and habitat restoration.
I’ve left my birds behind in Portland, but I had the wild birds of Wellington to keep me company.
July
I was staying in a small studio unit for my first month, but with Eric coming to visit, we decided to rent a house. While the house leaves much to be desired, the surroundings really can’t be beat.
A five-minute hike up the street is this beautiful view on top of the Omāroro reservoir, overlooking the city.
I started volunteering at Forest & Bird Nursery, which quickly became one of my favourite places. Great people doing important work, and it has been a great way to become more educated about native plants.
August
Eric came to visit, but he was doing a work-at-home month. We both ended up with bad colds, and then I got COVID for the first time. We did make it to Zealandia, a wildlife sanctuary we first visited in 2007.
Zealandia has been pivotal to the explosion of bird populations in Wellington. By providing a safe place for birds to nest and breed, the population has then spread into the city as they are ambitiously working to remove introduced predators from the entire area.
One of Zealandia’s residents was Orbell the Takahē, who we were fortunate to meet before he passed away from old age several months later.
September
Before heading to New Zealand, I had interviewed for a position at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre in Mount Bruce, about a 90-minute drive north of Wellington. Initially intending to stay there for 4 weeks, I ended up spending three months there as a ranger in the conservation breeding program. In September, I started my stint there.
I would spend Sunday through Thursday up in a rented house near Masterton and then head back to Wellington for the weekend, about a 90-minute drive away. The nearby mountains were snow-covered during much of my stay there.
I’m not able to show photos from my work in the captive breeding program, but here are some photos from public areas or when I got permission to share a photo.
October
The Wairarapa, where Pūkaha is located, is rich with amazing rainbows and crazy cloud formations that I became a bit obsessed with in my time off.
And then a time-lapse video.
I continued working in the captive breeding program at Pūkaha. Here’s a video of a pair of Kākāriki karaka | Orange-fronted parakeet doing their quiet chatter while eating in the free flight aviary.
Thursday night I would drive back to Wellington and stay through the weekend. I’ll share a couple random videos. I’ll share a video of a tūī feasting on Harakeke | New Zealand flax nectar on a windy day below the Omāroro reservoir.
November
Eric visited for the month of November. I took time off from Pūkaha, and we did multiple mini-vacations that were less than a week each.
One week, we did a driving trip up to the centre of the North Island, which included hiking the Tongariro Crossing, with side visits to Pureora Forest Park, Maungatautiri | Sanctuary Mountain, and a mountain bike trip in Ohakune.
Then, we spent a week on Rakiura | Stewart Island. We opted for the short, small plane flight instead of the ferry, which has a reputation for being quite rough. I sat in the co-pilot seat for the flight over, and Eric on the way back, so that was fun. A highlight was Ulva Island, a predator-free island with some virgin forest a short boat trip from the main island. We loved it so much, we went back for a second day, and each time we were watching the clock to make sure we made it in time for the return boat.
And a bonus video of me trying to be a nature documentarian.
December
Eric and I did some more island hopping in early December, visiting Kapiti Island and Matiu | Somes Island in the Wellington area before he returned to Portland.
I had been offered a longer-term position at Pūkaha as a ranger on the captive breeding team, but I decided that I wanted to be back in Wellington. I was temporarily sort of adrift, but had been doing some habitat restoration work in a small council reserve adjacent to my backyard. I decided to dive more deeply into it, and it’s since become a major project for me. I created a website to track what I’ve been doing and also to document the history of the reserve.
More to come in my next annual letter, but here’s a photo of an area overgrown with invasive plants that I started to tackle near the end of the year.
And Happy New Year from the Wellington waterfront!
Read my other annual letters here.