July 4, 2025 • 7 mins
Kevin Milne is encouraging people to spend a little more time outside this weekend.
The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey ends this weekend, which aks people to record the number of birds they see in their garden over the span of an hour.
Last weekend saw Kevin take part in the Whale Count, but he thinks most people will have better luck with the birds.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Over the years on Saturday Mornings together, we have broadcasts
from all sorts of remarkable places. Were broadcast from casinos
in Las Vegas, with broadcast from Wales, from Spain, from
all around the world. But I think today's at first.
We are broadcasting live this morning from Costa Rica, of
(00:33):
all places. Here's the thing, right, I had a little
bit of paternity leave, and we spent the vast majority
of it visiting my in laws and taking the new
baby over so that grandparents and great grandparents could meet
the wee chunky thing. But after that, I decided that
I was just an absolute sucker for punishment, and I thought,
what more relaxing option could there be than driving through
(00:54):
Latin America with a four month old baby. So I'm
trying that at the moment. It has actually been a
real delight so far, an absolute adventure. We're on the
Pacific coast at the moment, so you know, it's you
sort of feel like you're somewhat at home. You feel
like you recognize the ocean, you recognize some of the
landscapes or those things are a little bit warmer in
this part of the world. Of course. Anyway, I'm going
(01:15):
to tell you a bit more about that very shortly,
including the four month old's first misadventure in the ocean,
which was all my fault according to my wife. So
I'll share that story with you very shortly. But right
now it's seventeen past nine and time to catch up
with Kevin Melon this morning, more than Kevin Jack.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Quite extraordinary really that not only are you in Costa Rica,
but you didn't mention it at the top of the show.
It was just something you slid in later on, which
I find is incredible. Well, it's just traveling with four
months old.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yes, it's funny. You know. I had, you know, several
reservations about traveling with a four month old through Latin America,
but I really wanted to introduce the family to Latin America,
to give my SPANISHI a bit of a dust off
and see how we would go together. And of course
one of the reservations I had was that it's currently
the rainy season here. As I reminded my wife this morning,
(02:08):
actually it wouldn't have mattered if we hadn't tacked this
leg of our of the you know this league onto
our international journey because actually it's the rainy season everywhere
apparently at the moment, I don't think we'd be escaping it.
So it's a it's a real adventure. And actually, Kevin,
it's interesting we were passing. I was passing through a
part of the world yesterday that is one of the
(02:29):
world's four only certified blue zones. You know what these
are they there? These are the four places around the
world that are certified. I don't know how you get
certified for this kind of thing, as having an abnormally
high number of people who live to be one hundred,
so they have disproportionately large numbers of centurions. I think
(02:51):
the south of Italy has one, Japan has one as well,
and there might even be a part of the United States,
part of California, in which there is a particular religious
sect who live apparently a pretty healthy life and therefore
have longer life spectancies. But Nikoya and Costaurica is the fourth,
So there you go. I went through it. It was
(03:12):
a fleeting visit through one of the longest lived parts
of the world yesterday.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
But Leah, extraordinary, You're very lucky.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Jack yeah, yeah, very lucky. The well, the foods, yeah,
the foods, it's it's yeah, it's simple food, right, a
lot of rice and beans, and once you've had your
rice and beans, you can fill up on beans and rice.
So that's good to know. But no, no, no, we're
very lucky to be travling in this part of the world.
But anyway, Kevin, you've been focusing listeners, focusing on encouraging
(03:40):
listeners this week. Just to spend a little bit more
time outside in the neck of the woods.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, I know it's raining up in orkhand, but it's
actually beautiful down here, and I think the weather forecast
is good for autom But there's still time to take
part in the twenty twenty five Garden Birds survey. It
finishes tomorrow night. What do you have to do is
set aside of now to sit around your garden and
taken note of the birds you see. You can send
(04:07):
in your bird count results online directly to you selling
garden birds that day. Go online for a lot. There
are lots to make the bird count easy for you.
How do I identify some of them? For example, that
you'll identify most of them yourself. Anyway, it ends tomorrow night.
On Matariki weekend, Linda and I thought we'd take part
(04:29):
in the annual whale and dolphin count. Our little beach
cottage here looks out to Caboty Island over waters where
the humpback whales regularly passed by. Counting whales might sound
more exciting than counting birds. From the five years we've
been living here, we've not yet seen a single whale,
(04:50):
except in other people's videos. We've seen a phenomenally large
school of dolphins, about one hundred in pods of about twenty,
and seals regularly drift pass on their backs with flipper
in the air as though they're calling to be rescued.
The nearest I've come to sing a whale was I
heard wales song one summer night when I had the
(05:10):
window open to the sea. I didn't know that you
could hear wales song from on shore, and my family
teased about Teasney about this for years that have subsequently
read that in the early days of European settlement, before
whaling nearly wiped out the whales, locals here regularly heard
the quite distinct song of the unback whales echoing around
(05:33):
the Kapiti Hills. So I'm certain I heard the humpback
whales song through the bedroom window. But this weekend get
involved in the garden birds survey. Great with the kids,
and at least you'll know you'll see that, you'll see
a few.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Two, right. Yeah, it's so much fun to and it's
one of those classic things. If you spend just a
little bit of time being purposeful outside and counting them,
you can be surprised by how many actually passed through. Well,
you know what I said, that the best place. I'm
not suggesting that anyone's going to come across the South
Island or anything like that, but isn't the best place
to discover a new species your own backyard?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
You know?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Like often actually just being really purposeful and deliberate and
observing these things can surprise you in terms of the
amount of life that's in your immediate surroundings. But yeah,
I didn't know. I didn't know that about the whales.
So you can how do you count them? From? Sure? Can?
You can?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
You be very confident them on the surface amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
So if you see that, you see see the water breaking,
and you can you can quite comfortably or safely.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
That's right. But of course if you've got a slightly
choppy c, very difficult.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, oh yeah, true? Which would you never have a
choppy c in that part of the world, Kevin, I
can't imagine. It's always like a millpond out there.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
One or two, wouldn't you because they do pour through
he and but no, never seen one. Heaven knows. I
don't know why.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Well, I think I think that the bird counts a
great idea. This weekend they can and in there I'll
do my last what I hope it's my last brag
of the morning. I saw a new species that I
hadn't seen for the first time yesterday. I saw a toucane.
Isn't that like? Just tell you what? It's an amazing thing. Yeah,
you know, with a giant colorful beaks. Yeah, it looks
(07:23):
like a Yeah, it looks like a like a like
a cartoon more than an animal. You know.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
It's just ponishing birds. Yes, yes, fantastic.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
You go, and I'll tell you what not. Everyone's not.
Everyone's pleased with my efforts. My dad has sent me
two ticks. He sent one to the family chat as well,
to say Jack. Centenarians are people who live to one
hundred centurions are Roman soldiers. I suppose they're also cricketers,
aren't they?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
You know?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Came Williams and at Lord's Thanks Dad.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to news talks that'd be from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Over the years on Saturday Mornings together, we have broadcasts
from all sorts of remarkable places. Were broadcast from casinos
in Las Vegas, with broadcast from Wales, from Spain, from
all around the world. But I think today's at first.
We are broadcasting live this morning from Costa Rica, of
(00:33):
all places. Here's the thing, right, I had a little
bit of paternity leave, and we spent the vast majority
of it visiting my in laws and taking the new
baby over so that grandparents and great grandparents could meet
the wee chunky thing. But after that, I decided that
I was just an absolute sucker for punishment, and I thought,
what more relaxing option could there be than driving through
(00:54):
Latin America with a four month old baby. So I'm
trying that at the moment. It has actually been a
real delight so far, an absolute adventure. We're on the
Pacific coast at the moment, so you know, it's you
sort of feel like you're somewhat at home. You feel
like you recognize the ocean, you recognize some of the
landscapes or those things are a little bit warmer in
this part of the world. Of course. Anyway, I'm going
(01:15):
to tell you a bit more about that very shortly,
including the four month old's first misadventure in the ocean,
which was all my fault according to my wife. So
I'll share that story with you very shortly. But right
now it's seventeen past nine and time to catch up
with Kevin Melon this morning, more than Kevin Jack.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Quite extraordinary really that not only are you in Costa Rica,
but you didn't mention it at the top of the show.
It was just something you slid in later on, which
I find is incredible. Well, it's just traveling with four
months old.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yes, it's funny. You know. I had, you know, several
reservations about traveling with a four month old through Latin America,
but I really wanted to introduce the family to Latin America,
to give my SPANISHI a bit of a dust off
and see how we would go together. And of course
one of the reservations I had was that it's currently
the rainy season here. As I reminded my wife this morning,
(02:08):
actually it wouldn't have mattered if we hadn't tacked this
leg of our of the you know this league onto
our international journey because actually it's the rainy season everywhere
apparently at the moment, I don't think we'd be escaping it.
So it's a it's a real adventure. And actually, Kevin,
it's interesting we were passing. I was passing through a
part of the world yesterday that is one of the
(02:29):
world's four only certified blue zones. You know what these
are they there? These are the four places around the
world that are certified. I don't know how you get
certified for this kind of thing, as having an abnormally
high number of people who live to be one hundred,
so they have disproportionately large numbers of centurions. I think
(02:51):
the south of Italy has one, Japan has one as well,
and there might even be a part of the United States,
part of California, in which there is a particular religious
sect who live apparently a pretty healthy life and therefore
have longer life spectancies. But Nikoya and Costaurica is the fourth,
So there you go. I went through it. It was
(03:12):
a fleeting visit through one of the longest lived parts
of the world yesterday.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
But Leah, extraordinary, You're very lucky.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Jack yeah, yeah, very lucky. The well, the foods, yeah,
the foods, it's it's yeah, it's simple food, right, a
lot of rice and beans, and once you've had your
rice and beans, you can fill up on beans and rice.
So that's good to know. But no, no, no, we're
very lucky to be travling in this part of the world.
But anyway, Kevin, you've been focusing listeners, focusing on encouraging
(03:40):
listeners this week. Just to spend a little bit more
time outside in the neck of the woods.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, I know it's raining up in orkhand, but it's
actually beautiful down here, and I think the weather forecast
is good for autom But there's still time to take
part in the twenty twenty five Garden Birds survey. It
finishes tomorrow night. What do you have to do is
set aside of now to sit around your garden and
taken note of the birds you see. You can send
(04:07):
in your bird count results online directly to you selling
garden birds that day. Go online for a lot. There
are lots to make the bird count easy for you.
How do I identify some of them? For example, that
you'll identify most of them yourself. Anyway, it ends tomorrow night.
On Matariki weekend, Linda and I thought we'd take part
(04:29):
in the annual whale and dolphin count. Our little beach
cottage here looks out to Caboty Island over waters where
the humpback whales regularly passed by. Counting whales might sound
more exciting than counting birds. From the five years we've
been living here, we've not yet seen a single whale,
(04:50):
except in other people's videos. We've seen a phenomenally large
school of dolphins, about one hundred in pods of about twenty,
and seals regularly drift pass on their backs with flipper
in the air as though they're calling to be rescued.
The nearest I've come to sing a whale was I
heard wales song one summer night when I had the
(05:10):
window open to the sea. I didn't know that you
could hear wales song from on shore, and my family
teased about Teasney about this for years that have subsequently
read that in the early days of European settlement, before
whaling nearly wiped out the whales, locals here regularly heard
the quite distinct song of the unback whales echoing around
(05:33):
the Kapiti Hills. So I'm certain I heard the humpback
whales song through the bedroom window. But this weekend get
involved in the garden birds survey. Great with the kids,
and at least you'll know you'll see that, you'll see
a few.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Two, right. Yeah, it's so much fun to and it's
one of those classic things. If you spend just a
little bit of time being purposeful outside and counting them,
you can be surprised by how many actually passed through. Well,
you know what I said, that the best place. I'm
not suggesting that anyone's going to come across the South
Island or anything like that, but isn't the best place
to discover a new species your own backyard?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
You know?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Like often actually just being really purposeful and deliberate and
observing these things can surprise you in terms of the
amount of life that's in your immediate surroundings. But yeah,
I didn't know. I didn't know that about the whales.
So you can how do you count them? From? Sure? Can?
You can?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
You be very confident them on the surface amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
So if you see that, you see see the water breaking,
and you can you can quite comfortably or safely.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
That's right. But of course if you've got a slightly
choppy c, very difficult.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, oh yeah, true? Which would you never have a
choppy c in that part of the world, Kevin, I
can't imagine. It's always like a millpond out there.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
One or two, wouldn't you because they do pour through
he and but no, never seen one. Heaven knows. I
don't know why.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Well, I think I think that the bird counts a
great idea. This weekend they can and in there I'll
do my last what I hope it's my last brag
of the morning. I saw a new species that I
hadn't seen for the first time yesterday. I saw a toucane.
Isn't that like? Just tell you what? It's an amazing thing. Yeah,
you know, with a giant colorful beaks. Yeah, it looks
(07:23):
like a Yeah, it looks like a like a like
a cartoon more than an animal. You know.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
It's just ponishing birds. Yes, yes, fantastic.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
You go, and I'll tell you what not. Everyone's not.
Everyone's pleased with my efforts. My dad has sent me
two ticks. He sent one to the family chat as well,
to say Jack. Centenarians are people who live to one
hundred centurions are Roman soldiers. I suppose they're also cricketers,
aren't they?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
You know?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Came Williams and at Lord's Thanks Dad.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to news talks that'd be from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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