Last-minute preparations are well under way for the arrival of Little Spotted Kiwi. Those coming from Tiri have all been located, measured and fitted with radio trackers so they can be easily found on the day of transfer. The same thing is happening on Kapiti, while at Shakespear there is a bit of frantic work finishing fences and kiwi boxes for the transfer and putting up signs. Below is the latest clip from iseevideo, this time showing the catching under way at Tiri:
By Michell Roper Massey University researchers (including Prof. Dianne Brunton and PhD student Michelle Roper) are monitoring the New Zealand bellbird (Anthornis melanura) population at Shakespear Regional Park to look at their natural dispersal back into the park and as part of a wider study on song development and dialects. Bellbirds occur on various islands…
The destructive and aggressive red-vented bulbul has now been seen in several parts of Auckland, including our Whangaparaoa Peninsula. Evidently they like nice gardens and compost heaps, especially one with food scraps. If you see one please record the time and place, take a photo if you can and call Biosecurity on 0800 80 99…
Another 20 Little Spotted Kiwi kiwi were translocated from Kapiti Island in March. Here is a short video about their release.
We now have 20 Little Spotted Kiwi back at Shakespear, 10 from Tiritiri Matangi and 10 from Kapiti. Here is a video about the powhiri for them, and their subsequent release. They are still being monitored daily and appear to be settling as expected.
Forty tīeke from TiriTiri Matangi were released into bush on the NZ Defence Force land on Saturday 26th of May, and a further 10 were moved from Tāwharanui on 14th and 15th of June. Strong winds on the day meant that the 3km transfer was made by helicopter rather than ferry. The catching team used…
A comprehensive digital encyclopedia of NZ birds is now available online. To quote Graeme Taylor, DOC Principal Science Advisor: This new website has an excellent function that can be used to identify birds where the people concerned know very little about birds in general. It uses a system of habitat groups or broad plumage patterns…
