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In his comment in last week’s post on the Marlborough Sounds , Beat writer Jochen described the NewZealand Fantail as one of the best birds in the world. wakawaka, the NewZealand Fantail is a delightful inhabitant of NewZealand, and one of my favourite local birds. Fantails don’t do necks.
The NewZealand Pigeon , often known by its Maori name Kereru , or colloquially as woodpigeon, is a large and conspicuous part of NewZealand’s avifauna. As pigeons go it is very large, measuring up to 50 cm, and it is one of two species of pigeon endemic to NewZealand.
NewZealand has had its share of rediscovered birds too. The most recent rediscovery represents one of the longer absences from our attention, however, that of the NewZealand Storm-petrel. A blurry photo of the NewZealand Storm-petrel ( Oceanites maorianus, or is it?),
Finally, not so long ago digital photography opened doors to a never before seen number of amateurs shooting at professional level, including one of NewZealand’s youngest nature photographers, Oscar Thomas. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of NewZealand by Oscar Thomas is a photographic guide without a single poor photo.
NewZealand has a very odd biota these days. They took dogs to Australia, chickens across the Pacific, rabbits to England, horses to the New World, and then brought potatoes back. So that NewZealand would end up with quite a few species of animal not originally found here is hardly surprising of itself.
Goat Island, off NewZealand’s Northland, was an amazing diving location without any birds. Particular highlights were a massive Long-tailed Stingray , pipefish (long relatives of the sea horse), nudibranchs, goatfish and a NewZealand Eagle Ray. But that is actually by the by, because diving is its own reward.
I don’t feed birds much here in NewZealand. Leaving aside the jingoism (as one always must with that paper) the important point is that the lessons of NewZealand are not necessarily applicable to the UK, or America, or indeed anywhere other than NewZealand and the other islands of the Pacific.
NewZealand has turned many of its offshore islands into introduced-predator-free sanctuaries for native wildlife but Stoats , also known as Ermine or Short-Tailed Weasel , which were originally introduced to NewZealand to combat the introduced rabbit population, recently showed up on two different offshore islands, one of which was over five kilometers (..)
Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland was already one of the most important offshore reserves in NewZealand. This week it emerged that the island is important for another rare NewZealand bird, the critically endangered NewZealand Petrel.
As I mentioned in passing last week, I’ve just passed nine years since I moved to the Land of the Long White Cloud, Aotearoa, NewZealand. NewZealand is simultaneously birdy and not birdy. And while NewZealand has lost many species, it has also been a world leader in working out how to save those that remain.
I almost missed it, but NewZealand lost another endemic species recently. Hell, we gained a new endemic in NewZealand just a few weeks back when the Stewart Island Shag was split into the Otago Shag and Foveaux Shag. But the prevailing Zeitgeist wasn’t enough to save our gull. Good night sweet prince.
In NewZealand, however, the austral winter is not a particularly strong, due to the strong maritime influence and proximity to the equator. Combined with NewZealand’s isolation this means there are not the strong seasonal shifts in birdlife here that you’d find in an equivalent area in North America or Europe.
“Sandra,” a Kakapo first identified over twenty years ago, was found dead after her transmitter harness tangled in some vegetation. The transmitters are used so biologists can track the critically endangered bird.
Since everyone loves parrots, I thought I’d post some pictures of one of NewZealand’s many interesting species. One of the small parrots in the Cyanoramphus radiation, the species was recently split from insular forms on New Caledonia, Norfolk Island and Antipodes Island.
NewZealand and Australia are joining forces to carry out research on whales using non-lethal methods, in an attempt to challenge Japan's hunting programme. Tags: australia whales newzealand Japan. It's non-lethal. They will also be assessing the impact of climate change on the whales.
If you’re into family ticks, and into armchair ticks, well, I hope you’ve been to NewZealand, because the island just got another endemic bird family. That the three species of mohoua (genus Mohoua ) are NewZealand’s newest family is hardly a surprise. Say hello to the Mohouidae.
This is a very serious business here in NewZealand. NewZealand has been the recipient of a higher than average number of introduced species, in particular a range of mammals from elk to mice. The initial solution in NewZealand was to move species to islands where mammals hadn’t reached.
Since these things are filmed in NewZealand, I would have guessed they’d use a NewZealand bird but hey, the fact that they used the state bird of Wisconsin and even dubbed it over with the actual call totally impressed me. Not only that–its sound effect as he chirped was total American Robin! ” P.S.
So the massive project I’m working on reaches its climax this weekend, and my laptop is still broken… so here is a NewZealand bird story that is in the New York Times of all things! Birds behaviour bird behaviour math NewZealand endemics' A North Island Robin on a cache.
Gollum (the film version) It can’t have escaped your notice that there is a film from NewZealand out today that people are quite interested in. Kea ( Nestor notabilis ) Kea are a species of alpine parrot endemic to NewZealand.
NewZealand has one of the direst records of extinction is modern times, second on really to Hawaii in terms of bird species lost. I’ve also touched on how NewZealanders have responded to these extinctions, but not in as much depth. Where does NewZealand go from here? Well, people are talking big.
NewZealand can generate some interesting yard birds. Inhabitants of the eastern suburbs began reporting a large grey bird in the trees, one that matched the description of another endangered newZealand endemic, the Kokako. Birds backyard birds NewZealand' But the location was ridiculous.
I’ve stated in the past that I thought that the Pukeko, or Purple Swamphen, is NewZealand’s most iconic bird after the kiwi. Tui are large members of the honeyeater family, one of two species found in NewZealand. Tui ( Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae ) on NewZealand Flax.
Does my field guide of NewZealand birds have the same birds as my Handbook of the Birds of the World or the IUCN? Not so hard off California, where there are only three (and quite firmly so), but kind of tricky off NewZealand where there are something between lots and many types of albatrosses. Does it hell.
It’s a model that is now happening across NewZealand, and it was nice to experience it near my friend’s house in Taranaki. NewZealand fantails were very common. Birding NewZealandNewZealand endemics' Rare species, like North Island Brown Kiwi , have been reintroduced.
Kaikoura, in NewZealand’s South Island, is arguably the best place in the world to see albatrosses and petrels. But the second factor is the sheer number of albatrosses you’ll find around NewZealand. So yeah, if you want seabirds, you want NewZealand. All this in a two and a half hour trip!
home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Petrel Paradise Petrel Paradise By Duncan • March 2, 2011 • 4 comments Tweet Share I’ve mentioned before that NewZealand is a great place for enjoying petrels.
This brings me, in a roundabout way (as is my want) to NewZealand birding and listing. This is something that would be quite a big deal in NewZealand. Birds in NewZealand, the rare ones, are actively and aggressively managed. It’s a fact of life, and their ongoing existence.
The Buller’s Mollymawk is an endemic breeder to NewZealand, although it ranges widely away from the islands to feed, and regularly goes to South America’s Humboldt Current to feed.
The Department of Conservation in NewZealand is giving you, yes you , the chance to spend two days and one night raising Kakapo chicks ! Bidding is on TradeMe (NewZealand’s eBay), and the money raised will go to clearing the Antipodes Islands of introduced rats ( a story we talked about before ).
Although the only pine forests found in NewZealand are recent plantations of Northern Hemisphere Pinus species like the Monterey pine, the country does have native conifers. This is the kauri , Agathis austalis , the largest tree in NewZealand. This is the kauri , Agathis austalis , the largest tree in NewZealand.
Females and non-breeding males look similar The Brown Teal is endemic to NewZealand, and was once lumped with two closely related island forms, the Auckland Island Teal and the Campbell Teal. Brown Teal chasing a NewZealand Scaup Adult male with almost fully grown youngsters. Almost fully grown young bird.
The NewZealand Grey Duck is nearly extinct as species. Approximately 95 percent of the native Gray Ducks in NewZealand are hybrids. Mallards did not occur in NewZealand naturally, but were released to provide hunting stock.
The Weka is not NewZealand’s largest surviving flightless rail, but unlike the Takahe it remains relatively common across parts of NewZealand, particularly areas of South Island. There are two exceptions, however, the Tasmanian Native-hen , which I won’t be showing you today, and the Weka , which I am.
The dual name is something of a NewZealand compromise, Taranaki being the old Maori name and Mt Egmont being the name given by Captain Cook in honour of some long dead admiral that supported him. Both names are official within NewZealand, and you’ll hear different people use different names.
South Island’s Westland District is perhaps NewZealand’s best kept secret, a staggeringly beautiful stretch of coastline jammed between the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. Westland Petrels are endemic breeders to NewZealand, and an attractive large black seabird. Birds NewZealand endemics petrels'
Later the continents broke up into smaller regions such as South America, Africa, Asia and such, an a few smaller pieces like Madagascar and NewZealand as well. This was on Gondwana. This unexpected result strongly contradicts continental vicariance and instead supports flighted dispersal in all major ratite lineages.
If you’ve read my posts before you’d know I’ve written at length about the devastating effects of introduced mammals in NewZealand, and also of the ways that NewZealanders have been working to save their species from those same mammals. If the money is raised he will match it to get the work underway.
This makes it a particularly exciting time in NewZealand as the Rugby World Cup begins in two days, and the competition is being held right here in NewZealand (I would imagine they might be more excited if they hadn’t just lost two matches to Australia and South Africa, their big rivals in the Tri-Nations).
Shore Plovers , a critically endangered species from NewZealand, have been reintroduced to several small islands off of NewZealand that were cleared of predators. A flock of about twenty of the birds keep flying from Mana Island , presumably to the mainland, but scientists can’t figure out where.
home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Stalking a Kiwi Icon Stalking a Kiwi Icon By Duncan • March 16, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share Most people, if asked, would confidently name what they thought the National Bird of NewZealand was.
Above, a Mallard preens in NewZealand and sends pulsing waves into the morning light. While we all love birds for their spectacular and stupefying relationship to the air, waterfowl have another element to navigate and they are equally attuned to its demands. A Mallard’s perspective on the art of dabbling.
This was at least what I was left pondering this week as read about a rogue swan attack here in NewZealand that almost left a whitebaiter dead. NewZealand was once home to Haast’s Eagle , the largest eagle in the world. Apparently a swan in the US recently succeeded in its murderous attempts.
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