Nature Talks looks at special birds photographed around Whanganui

An adult Nankeen night heron in full breeding plumage, one of the subjects of Paul Gibson’s upcoming Nature Talks. Photo / Paul Gibson, copyright, reproduced with permission

Paul Gibson, author of several books on New Zealand birds and one of Whanganui’s best-known bird photographers, will be the speaker at this month’s Nature Talks

The talk will be given on Tuesday, April 16, in the Davis Lecture Theatre, Whanganui Regional Museum, starting at 7.30pm.

This richly illustrated talk, Bird Photography — Rare Beauties on our Local Patch, will focus on some of the special birds that Paul has photographed locally in the past 15 months.

Those who have heard Paul talk previously or have seen his books will know that he takes superb photographs, the products of a keen eye for birds and their interesting behaviours.

As he says, it is surprising what is out there if we take the time to look in likely places, and just how beautiful many of these birds are when seen close up.

The Whanganui region not only has its own special birds, such as the Nankeen night heron, which in New Zealand breeds only along the Whanganui River, but is visited by birds from as far away as the Arctic circle, at one end of the world, to those from sub-Antarctic, at the other, with many in between. Paul has photographed and written about most of them.

Come and share Paul’s enthusiasm for birds and learn more about them. Entry is free although a gold coin donation is always welcome from those who can afford it, to help offset expenses.

Nature Talks is a series of bi-monthly talks organised by three local environmental groups: Birds New Zealand (Whanganui Region), the Whanganui branch of Forest & Bird, and the Whanganui Botanical Group, all in conjunction with the Whanganui Regional Museum, on topics related to New Zealand’s environment, natural history and their conservation.

■ The talks are normally held on the third Tuesday of every alternate month. For more information, contact Peter Frost at birds.whanganui@gmail.com, or phone 343-1648.