10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2015

I don’t feed birds much here in New Zealand. A study, which seems to be making news around the world, has shown that feeding birds in gardens seems to favour non-native species and can lower numbers of native species. New Zealand has a great deal more introduced species than these other places.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Stray Woodpeckers Birds 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland was already one of the most important offshore reserves in New Zealand. It was for many years the last place you’d find Stitchbirds anywhere in the world, and to this day it still has the largest population of this species and arguably the only stable and secure one.

New Zealand 151

New Zealand Rats Cooking 2003 151

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2014

Here at 10,000 Birds we are going to dedicate the coming week, from today until Saturday, to invasive species. Of course, most of the species we will cover will fit the more traditional definition of invasive species, which usually only covers introduced species that are doing harm to species in the areas to which they are introduced.

Species 219

Species New Zealand North America Mammals 219

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2016

I almost missed it, but New Zealand lost another endemic species recently. Now I’ve written before about how careless this country is with species, having lost around 60 endemics since the arrival of man to introduced species and hunting. The Red-billed Gull is no more. Good night sweet prince.

New Zealand 132

New Zealand Hunting Australia Species 132

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

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, New Zealand. New Zealand is simultaneously birdy and not birdy. And while New Zealand has lost many species, it has also been a world leader in working out how to save those that remain.

New Zealand 123

New Zealand Albatross Parrots Penguins 123

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Yesterday i introduced you, gentle reader, to the lovely work done by the acclimatisation societies of New Zealand in making the already interesting biogeography of this country even more complicated. The solution, as you might imagine from this go getting era, was to bring some better ducks to New Zealand.

Species 183

Species New Zealand Ducks Game 183

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Since everyone loves parrots, I thought I’d post some pictures of one of New Zealand’s many interesting species. The Red-crowned Parakeet is one of three species known also as Kakariki - literally small kaka.

New Zealand 248

New Zealand Parrots Sanctuary Wildlife 248

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2011

In New Zealand, however, the austral winter is not a particularly strong, due to the strong maritime influence and proximity to the equator. Combined with New Zealand’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.

New Zealand 113

New Zealand Sanctuary North America Guinea 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

If you’re into family ticks, and into armchair ticks, well, I hope you’ve been to New Zealand, because the island just got another endemic bird family. That the three species of mohoua (genus Mohoua ) are New Zealand’s newest family is hardly a surprise. Say hello to the Mohouidae.

Family 204

Family New Zealand Parrots Birds 204

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2012

Wildlife conservation is concerned with protecting wildlife at the level of species or perhaps population. With the exception of species that number in the hundreds, conservation biologists are not as concerned with the fates of individual animals, it is only when such fates of many individuals are added up do they begin to worry.

Animal Rights 270

Animal Rights Rights Animal New Zealand 270

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2014

Perhaps our outrage at invasive species can be a bit hypocritical at times. Listers are quick to put aside their condemnation of invasive species once they attain that coveted status of exotic: not native, not fully naturalized, but established well enough to be countable by the prevailing authority. That’s where we come in.

Species 160

Species Feral Cats Feral Miami 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

So the massive project I’m working on reaches its climax this weekend, and my laptop is still broken… so here is a New Zealand bird story that is in the New York Times of all things! Birds behaviour bird behaviour math New Zealand endemics' A North Island Robin on a cache.

New Zealand 203

New Zealand New York Times New York Experience 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2013

Since these things are filmed in New Zealand, I would have guessed they’d use a New Zealand 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!

New Zealand 252

New Zealand Wisconsin Minnesota Eagles 252

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2012

New Zealand 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 New Zealanders have responded to these extinctions, but not in as much depth. Where does New Zealand go from here? Stewart island big.

New Zealand 182

New Zealand Rats Mammals Possums 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2014

It is also known for the 500 exotic species of animals and plants that now call the Sunshine State home. Exotic species are animals that did not historically occur in Florida. One such species is the familiar mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). The New Zealand Grey Duck is nearly extinct as species.

Florida 249

Florida Ducks New Zealand Feral 249

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2012

Gollum (the film version) It can’t have escaped your notice that there is a film from New Zealand out today that people are quite interested in. Kea ( Nestor notabilis ) Kea are a species of alpine parrot endemic to New Zealand.

New Zealand 200

New Zealand Parrots Sheep Investigation 200

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Kaikoura, in New Zealand’s South Island, is arguably the best place in the world to see albatrosses and petrels. One is the sea canyon that comes close to shore, ensuring plenty of pelagic species can be found close to shore. But the second factor is the sheer number of albatrosses you’ll find around New Zealand.

Albatross 213

Albatross New Zealand Dolphins Whaling 213

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

New Zealand can generate some interesting yard birds. We may not have huge numbers of species, but we can find some real specialties. I’ve managed a number of globally endangered or vulnerable species in my own backyard, from Saddlebacks and Stitchbirds to the irrepressible Kaka (which I’m listening to right now).

New Zealand 185

New Zealand Squirrels Sanctuary Wildlife 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2012

Before humans spread across the oceans of the world, wiping out huge numbers of endemic insular species , pretty much every decent sized island far from the continents had its own species of rail. Those days are sadly gone, and very few flightless species of rail survive. Once upon a time the average bird on Earth was a rail.

New Zealand 190

New Zealand Species Humane Groups 190

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

I’ve stated in the past that I thought that the Pukeko, or Purple Swamphen, is New Zealand’s most iconic bird after the kiwi. Tui are large members of the honeyeater family, one of two species found in New Zealand. Tui ( Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae ) on New Zealand Flax.

New Zealand 168

New Zealand Sanctuary Family Species 168

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2014

Actually, I lie, albatross taxonomy has always been a mess, but there was a period of relative calm, from the sixties to the ninties, when there were about 12 species in two genera. Suddenly there were lots of species, and most confusingly of all, never the same number or types in each book or resource you looked at. Does it hell.

Albatross 182

Albatross New Zealand Breeding California 182

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2012

But names aren’t everything and there is plenty to say about this species. Females and non-breeding males look similar The Brown Teal is endemic to New Zealand, and was once lumped with two closely related island forms, the Auckland Island Teal and the Campbell Teal. Male Brown Teal showing some breeding plumage.

New Zealand 179

New Zealand Ducks 2000 Breeding 179

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2011

The Buller’s Mollymawk is an endemic breeder to New Zealand, although it ranges widely away from the islands to feed, and regularly goes to South America’s Humboldt Current to feed. As albies go they seem to be doing better than most species, and are only listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

Albatross 252

Albatross New Zealand South America Breeders 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

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 New Zealand is a great place for enjoying petrels.

New Zealand 183

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Rare species, like North Island Brown Kiwi , have been reintroduced. It’s a model that is now happening across New Zealand, and it was nice to experience it near my friend’s house in Taranaki. New Zealand fantails were very common. Birding New Zealand New Zealand endemics'

New Zealand 168

New Zealand Sanctuary Mammals Wildlife 168

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2015

The species was in the news because some scientists had finally managed (or bothered – it’s much the same thing) to locate the population high in the mountains of the Solomon Islands, and catch and photograph one. Unsurprisingly the ones that most stick in the mind were the lost species. New Zealand Bitterns.

Collecting 264

Collecting Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2011

Although the only pine forests found in New Zealand 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 New Zealand. A New Zealand Fantail refusing to fan its tail.

New Zealand 168

New Zealand Fiji Protection Rats 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2011

I’m not sure what the collective noun for a group of petrels is, but the vets and wildlife carers of New Zealand might be forgiven for thinking that it might be a wreck after this week. This is the largest species of prion and perhaps the one that best suits the alternative name whalebird.

New Zealand 212

New Zealand Vet Collecting Geese 212

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Since New Zealand is currently consumed by rugby fever and we haven’t the time to indulge in anything so tedious as birdwatching, I thought I’d dive back under the sea to introduce one of New Zealand’s most iconic aquatic organisms, the Australasian Snapper ( Pagrus auratus ).

New Zealand 183

New Zealand Goats Fish Japan 183

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

South Island’s Westland District is perhaps New Zealand’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 New Zealand, and an attractive large black seabird. Birds New Zealand endemics petrels'

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Breeders Albatross Mammals 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

It’s mid-July, which among other things means that those of us in North America are starting to check local mudflats for returning shorebird migrants and waiting impatiently for the AOU to hurry up and create five species from the Clapper-King rail complex (the reasons for which we covered last year ). Gowen et al.

Elephants 240

Elephants New Zealand Sparrows Ostriches 240

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2014

Later the continents broke up into smaller regions such as South America, Africa, Asia and such, an a few smaller pieces like Madagascar and New Zealand as well. The early isolation of Africa and Madagascar implies that the ostrich and extinct Madagascan elephant birds (Aepyornithidae) should be the oldest ratite lineages.

Madagascar 244

Madagascar Ostriches Elephants New Zealand 244

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2011

Here they second only to the kiwi (which are a family as opposed to a single species), and that is because the people here decided for some reason to name themselves after these flightless blind and rather elusive ground birds. (I I guess New Zealanders really like flightless birds.) At any rate Kakapo matter.

New Zealand 223

New Zealand Parrots Sanctuary Family 223

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

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 New Zealand was.

New Zealand 173

New Zealand 2011 Deer Namibia 173

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2012

If you’ve read my posts before you’d know I’ve written at length about the devastating effects of introduced mammals in New Zealand, and also of the ways that New Zealanders have been working to save their species from those same mammals.

Mice 160

Mice New Zealand Penguins Albatross 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Conservation was in the news again in the last few weeks here in New Zealand, and unfortunately not in a good way. As most people know cats, both feral and domestic, have a pretty big impact on wild birds and other wildlife, and the effect of mammals is particularly profound in New Zealand.

New Zealand 154

New Zealand Possums SPCA Hedgehogs 154