A blog post by Emma For two weeks over the New Zealand 2018/2019 summer, Tom and I volunteered with kākāpō on Whenua Hou Island. You can read about the trip and some of the other species we encountered in our blog post, here. Whilst we were on the island, we were extremely lucky to have…
Tag: Bird
The Ducks Who Surf Rapids: New Zealand’s Endangered Whio
A Caravanning Trip in the Rain Despite the weather forecast promising us a very rainy weekend, nothing was going to deter us from heading out. Mum and Dad’s caravan was stocked with the essentials, mine and Tom’s cameras were packed, we all had our raincoats and gumboots, so off we set up the windy Parapara…
A New Zealand Tūī Feeding on Flax Nectar
Click to zoom in New Zealand’s Endemic Tūī Tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) are an endemic New Zealand bird found across almost all of New Zealand. They range from the subtropical Kermadec Islands to the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. Tūī are noticeably absent from the Canterbury region although they were found there historically. With native planting, predator control,…
The Green Woodpecker: Professor Yaffle Comes to Say, “Hello!”
After hearing some interesting bird calls from over the wall, Tom took his long lens and I grabbed my binos and we went on the hunt.
The Baya Weaver (One Way to Please Her: Become a Master Weaver)
After an adventurous Malaysian jungle experience, we were back in the 4×4 heading out of the forest and soon bouncing our way down the dusty tracks surrounded by oil palm plantations. I had one more ask of our extremely patient guide and friend, Mr Lam. Several days earlier on the way into Endau Rompin National Park, we…
The Rhinoceros Hornbill : Malaysia’s National Bird
…Their most striking feature, their casque (the head ornament that looks like a second bill, or rhinoceros horn) is thought to have a similar function to that of hadrosaur’s head crest.
Exploring the Malaysian Jungle: Endau-Rompin National Park
Tom and I spend the southern hemisphere’s summer in New Zealand, my home country, and the northern hemisphere’s summer in England, Tom’s home country. We follow the summer because it is also the ecology season when we get most work. The flight can be pretty long when you have to travel half-way around the globe, so…
Takahē: The World’s Largest Living Rail
The takahē’s story is quite amazing. Between 1849 and 1898, only four individuals were ever sighted… By the early 1900’s takahē were considered to be extinct.
New Zealand’s Smallest Endemic Bird isn’t a True Wren, it’s the Rifleman
Despite being known as one of the New Zealand wrens, of which it is one of only two surviving species, the Rifleman actually belongs to the ancient Acanthisittidae family. They are often called “wrens” due to similarities in appearance and behaviour to the true wrens of the family Troglodytidae.
A Guest Among Gannets
The Muriwai gannet colony in one of three mainland gannet colonies in New Zealand. The origin of the colony at Muriwai began on the island of Oaia, just off the coast where gannets first established nesting sites in the early 20th century.
New Zealand Falcon in Bushy Park
On a recent exploit to Bushy Park, Whanganui, we heard, and consequently hunted down two New Zealand falcon (karearea) perching high up in a tree amongst the epiphytes. This was a first for me and a great chance to get some photographs.
New Zealand’s Sacred Kingfisher
Now that I am in New Zealand, I’ve been looking out for kingfishers. I often hear a ‘keh-keh-keh’ as I go about my daily business, and even see the silhouette of New Zealand kingfishers perching, at height, on telegraph wires near waterways.