Kiwi & Birdlife Park

While in Queenstown, New Zealand (South Island) I visited the Kiwi & Birdlife Park near my hostel. This park has a wide variety of endemic wildlife, and it was started by a couple who turned this near dump into a wildlife sanctuary. Some of these animals we have already learned about.

New Zealand Falcon (karearea) are endemic to New Zealand. It is its fastest and most aggressive bird of prey. They are nationally threatened and endangered. It is often confused with the common Australasian Harrier, which is much larger.

New Zealand Falcon

Swamp Harrier (kahu) are native to New Zealand. They are self introduced from Australia about 800 years ago. They are now common and widespread.

Swamp Harrier

If you see a bird of prey in New Zealand it will be one of these two (falcon or harrier). But how will you tell which? The falcon is extremely rare while the harrier is common throughout New Zealand. The falcon is fast, with rapid wing beats while the harrier mostly glides and wings set in shallow'v'. Falcons are aggressive and fast and they stoop and dive, they ambush and chase other birds while the harrier searches slowly soaring on in the wind and drops on prey. Falcons eat exclusively live prey and prefer small native birds and are not seen eating road-kill or carrion while the harrier eats mammals and carrion and are frequently seen on New Zealand roads eating dead possums and rabbits. Falcons have a rapid piercing and repeated call while the harrier's is generally silent with an occasional sound.
Owlet Nightjar, Eyles' Harrier and Laughing Owl are now extinct.

Eyles' Harrier

Laughing Owl (you can see where it gets its name from!)

Owlet Nightjar

The Haast's Eagle was the largest and heaviest bird of prey on earth and is now extinct. Weighing around 12kg, they preyed on other birds, especially the gigantic moa. The Haast's Eagle died out after the moa were hunted to extinction. Maori legend tells of the eagle killing children.

Haast Eagle attacking a Moa

Kiwi are New Zealand's most ancient bird, and is their national bird. Because New Zealand had only three native land mammals (tiny bats), kiwi evolved to fill a mammals niche. The unique features of a kiwi include: feathers are shaggy, like coarse hair, bones are heavy and marrow-filled, they have a mammal's low body temperature, live in burrows, chicks hatch fully feathered, but they take 3-5 years to attain adult size, and they are the only bird with nostrils at the tip of their bill. We learned about the five different species (Brown, great spotted, little spotted, rowi, and tokoeka). Rowi and tokoeka are the rarest kiwi- each has only a few hundred adults left. The female kiwi lays a gigantic egg in proportion to their weight- the equivalent of us giving birth to a 35 pound baby!!! Kiwi numbers have plummeted- from millions 200 years ago to about 70,000 today. Many of the places they lived are now cities, towns, or farms. Kiwi are killed by stoats, dogs, cats, ferrets, pigs, and possums. About 50% of kiwi eggs fail to hatch, and of the eggs that do hatch, about 90% of chicks are dead within six months- 70% killed by stoats or cats. About 5% reach adulthood. Kiwis are ratites and related to emu, ostrich, rhea, cassowary, and extinct moa. Ratites lack the keel bone which would normally support powerful flight muscles.

Kiwi

The Morepork is New Zealand's only endemic owl. It is a great forest hunter and can fly without making a noise because it's wing feathers have very soft edges. Maori called them Ruru because of the sound they make. They thought that the cry of a Ruru was a bad omen. Europeans thought that their call sounded like "Morepork". Most birds can't see well at night but Moreporks have  great night vision. They can see in every direction by swelling their head almost right round. Their eyes are on the front of their head like ours so that they can judge distance. The staring eyes on Maori carvings are said to be Morepork eyes. Moreporks also have excellent hearing. One ear is slightly higher than the other, which helps them work out where sounds are coming from. They listen for insects and small animals such as lizards and sleeping birds, then they sneak up on their prey silently, and pounce. They have adapted well to the changing environment. They originally lived in native forests but have adapted to live in man-made parks and pine plantations. Moreporks eat all of their prey but afterwards they cough up a pellet that contains all of the bones, feathers and fur. By pulling them apart with tweezers you can see what they ate for dinner. Rurus nest in hollow trees or in thick clusters of small plants growing in the crooks of branches. They lay two eggs in early sumer. Once the chicks are three weeks old they perch at the nest entrance waiting for their parents to bring them food. When they are small, chicks are fed on insects or small pieces of bird. When they get bigger their parents group whole birds for them to practice ripping food up with their claws and beaks.

Morepork (Ruru)

The comical Kea is a distinctive part of the South Island Mountains. With its loud calls of "keargh" this playful and ever curious bird soon makes itself known to skiers and hikers. There are many stories of kea antics, as they need to investigate any unusual object in their territory. They have been known to shred rubber door seals on cars, steal food and utensils, undo tent seams and generally cause havoc wherever possible. For a lot of the time kea are very private birds staying high in the mountains. In the late winter, the female kea builds a nest in a hollow tree or under a rock. She spends about three and a half weeks in the dark, quiet nest, incubating her eggs. The male brings plant and insect food to the entrance for her. The chicks stay in the nest for up to three months and both parents have to work hard to feed them. Even after fledging the parents will continue to feed them for several more weeks. The young kea learn by mimicking what their parents do and playing with each other. Once they are two or three years old and on their own, kea spend a few years hanging around in kea gangs. These are the kea's 'teenage' years and it is these gangs that are most often seen around places suck as ski fields. Kea use their strong beaks to drill into rotten wood for grubs, pick off leaves and berries and dig up moss, all part of their diet. Their clawed feet are really useful for picking up and holding objects. Kea faced a terrible fate in the early to mid 1900s when they were branded as sheep killers and people were paid to hunt them, but these days they are protected and the only shooting is done by photographers with their cameras! They have the same problem-solving (and mess-making) ability as a 4 year old child. Kea seem common in the wild because they are attracted to popular tourist destinations but their numbers are estimated at around 5,000. Kea are cheeky and inquisitive, the clown of birds and the only alpine parrot in the world- definitely worth protecting!

Kea damaging a windshield wiper

Black Stilts, or kaki as the Maori referred to them as, means neck or throat and comes from the fact that young birds in winter plumage have a white face, breast and belly with a black band at the throat.  The black stilt is one of the rarest wading birds in the world. It was once widespread throughout New Zealand, but now only survives in the Mckenzie Basin. Its numbers dropped to 50 in the early 1980s but have increased to around 150. Black stilts have glossy black plumage with a green sheen, red skinny legs and luminous orange eyes. Their long black bills allow them to probe in shingle and mud on the riverbed for insects. To try and save the black stilt, the Department of Conservation in Twizel runs a captive-breeding program. A breeding pair is held here at the Kiwi Birdlife Park as part of that program. It's main predators are introduced mammals like cats, ferrets, stoats and rats who eat the eggs and chicks. Man-made changes to rivers like damning have also destroyed the birds habitat and natural food. They have several different calls: loud 'yaps' which are alarm calls, quiet 'cheeps' which are contact calls to each other. Black stilts mate for life and new pairs are made usually in winter and early spring. They tend to nest on their own and family groups will defend their territories against other black stilts. This lone nesting makes them more vulnerable to predators. Nesting is from September to January and both birds join in building the nest and share the incubation, which lats for 25 days. The young are slow to mature and rely on both parents for warmth and protection. Juvenile black stilts are black and white and are easily confused with the common pied stilt. The young birds become completely black at around 18months - 2 years of age.

Adult Black Stilt (Kaki)

The Whio/blue duck is endemic to New Zealand, and one of the only four duck species in the world that lives in fast flowing water. They have a special soft lip on the end of their bill which acts like a head on a vacuum cleaner, allowing them to scrape off insect larvae that clings to rocks. They are most active at dawn and dusk and very often hide during the day so they may be hard to spot. Whio are nationally vulnerable and there are believed to be less than 3,000 remaining. The Auckland Zoo participates in the national breed for release program for these rare ducks, helping to boost their numbers in the wild. Whio cannot be held with other ducks as they are fiercely territorial. Their Maori name, whio,  mimics the call the male makes. The female makes a more rattling sound.

Whio/Blue Duck

The Yellow-crowned Parakeet like their cousins the Red-crowned Parakeet were known as Kakariki by Maori due to their bright green color- kakariki is the Maori word for green. The yellow-crowned parakeet is yet another New Zealand bird that has suffered from the destruction of native forest. Once common throughout the three main islands, the yellow-crowned parakeet declined considerably in the first part of the 1900s. It appears to be on the increase again, but is still rare in the area north of Auckland. It prefers mixed podocarp forest. On offshore islands, where the red-crowned parakeet also occurs, it favors taller unbroken forest and scrub; the red-crowned parakeet generally lives in more open areas with low vegetation. On the main islands, pairs or small groups usually feed in the forest canopy or on the outer branches and leaves of shrubs, and someones on or near the ground. However, on offshore islands where there are no introduced predators, like cats or stoats, the yellow-crowned parakeet commonly feeds on the forest floor. It eats a wide range of invertebrates, buds, shoots, flowers and seeds, including those of beech and podocarp. It's diet if very like that of the red-crowned parakeet but has a higher proportion of invertebrates. The breeding season depends on the availability of food. It can extend over most of the year. Young birds have been seen from July until April, but most eggs are laid between October and December. The nest is often in a natural hole in a living or dead tree. In captivity the birds begin breeding at less than one year. The clutch of elliptical white eggs varies from five to nine. The female, fed by the male, incubates for about 20 days. The young are fed on tender shoots and buds. Chicks leave the nest at five or six weeks and continue to be fed by both parents for a further week or so. 

Yellow-crowned Parakeet

Here at the Kiwi & Birdlife Park they are breeding Brown Teal (Pateke) as part of 'Operation Pateke'. The Brown Teal is New Zealand's least-known bird and one of the world's rarest waterfowl. They have been totally protected since 1921 but this has not stopped the decline of the species. To create farmland settlers drained swamps and chopped down forest, which destroyed a lot of the brown teal's habitat. There was also extensive shooting. But the greater the reductions, in some cases complete disappearance, occurred in the North Island after 1920, and may be blamed on an unidentified disease. A large population of brown teal survived on Stewert Island until the 1950s. When cats became common the birds disappeared from there in 1972. Small groups of brown teal are still found on the mainland, the closest being in Fiordland, but Great Barrier Island is probably the only place with a stable population, probably between 600 to 1,000 birds. Brown teal love heavily vegetated wetlands, preferably with some still or slow flowing open water. In some areas brown teal have adapted to farmland living by using partly overgrown stock ponds as their homes. Feeding usually starts at dusk and continues through the night. Insects, worms, and snails are on the menu as well as shoots and succulent roots of vegetation. Brown teal lay a clutch of 4-8 creamy eggs in a bowl of grass. The young chicks can fly 50-55 days after they have hatched. The male stays in the breeding territory as a guard, he looks after his family and is aggressive to all other waterfowl. Outside the breeding season brown teal are very sociable, getting together in big flocks at traditional sites and roosting communally. Sadly it is this trait that has contributed to their downfall: in Northland wherever a roosting site has been destroyed, the number of birds in the area has declined. Hopes of saving the brown teal rely on habitat protection and re-stocking the wild with captive-bred birds. 

Brown Teal (Pateke)

Maori folklore would say that a person who speaks very well speaks with the voice of the Tui (Parson Bird). Often this were kept in cages by Maori and after someone had told their grievance they were judged by the way the tui responded. The tui is famous for its songs. It is the first to sing in the morning and the last to sing at night. It is an incredible  mimic and was kept as a pet by Maori and taught to talk! Tuis love nectar, fruit and insects. You can attract tui to your garden with sugar water. Tuis are monogamous. Courtship involves chasing round and round the nest area after the male has fed the female. The pair also perform duets. Each pair live in a territory defended vigorously by the male, he chases intruders away with near vertical dives and much beak clicking and wing rustling. Tuis nest in a fork or outer branch of a tree and the nest is usually open weave twigs and sticks with a sparse lining of leaves, tree fern scales and moss. The female builds the nest and usually constructs several nests close together before deciding which one to lay her eggs in. Tui are well known for the white tuft under their chin which contrasts against their black feathers. 

Tui

The Campbell Island Teal is fully protected. They are very rare and only found on one of the sub-antarctic islands. Their wings are small for their side therefore they are flightless. Kiwi & Birdlife Park is participating in a nationally coordinated captive program. They were thought to be extinct for 200 years, but rediscovered on Dent Island in 1972. A successful captive breeding program and the world's largest rat eradication saw these rare ducks returned to their original home on Campbell Island where they are now thriving. 

Campbell Island Teal

New Zealand's Subantarctic Islands are isolated, windswept, beautiful and fragile. Located several hundred km south and east of New Zealand, the isolation and harsh climate of these island groups have led to a surprisingly diverse and unique flora and fauna. NZ's Subantarctic Islands were honored with World Heritage status in 1998, being described by the United Nations Environment Program as "the most diverse and extensive of all subantarctic archipelagos." Not all parrots live in paradise. The Antipodes Island parakeet lives only on Antipodes Island, a cold, windy, bleak and unforested Subantarctic Island. As unique as their landscape, this parakeet has adapted to spending most of their time on the ground and they are even known to scavenge and hunt seabirds as a food source. These parakeets are larger than other NZ parakeets, their bill is heavier and their heads are entirely green. 

Antipodes Island Parakeet

Weka are flightless birds with a great homing instinct. They are able to walk great distances and can also swim across rivers and streams, some have been known to swim distances of up to a kilometer to get home! Last century, when weka were widely abundant, local populations were found to appear and disappear abruptly and unaccountably. Birds today walk up to one kilometer to camp sites or picnic spots, where they steal caps of food and bright objects such as spoons. Once hunted by Maori for food, feathers and oil, weka are now protected everywhere except the Chatham Islands. The natural diet of weka in forests is predominantly fallen fruits and invertebrates. They also eat lizards, snails and the eggs and young of birds. Weka often kill mice, rats and young rabbits. Weka who live on the coast make their dinner from sandhoppers, shellfish and storm-cast food. On farmland they eat grasses and seeds, and in some areas they are blamed for pulling out seedlings and damaging vegetable crops such as tomatoes. Agricultural development and the introduction of mammalian predators were the reason for a drop in the number of weka late last century. But the biggest problem was between 1915-1925, when many vanished suddenly, from most of the North Island and parts of the South Island, probably due to disease. Pairs may remain together for many years and defend their home throughout the year. Nesting has been recorded in every month of the year but the peak of the breeding season seems to be July and August. Nests are usually on the ground in dry, sheltered areas concealed in vegetation, but logs, rock overhands, burrows and even outbuildings are used. Most nests are made of grass and lined with finer grass or sometimes feathers, wool, hair and leaves. Their ovoid eggs are creamy white to pinkish with scattered brown and pale purplish blotches, and are laid in clutches of one to six. Incubation, shared by both parents, takes 25-27 days.Though chicks are active within hours of hatching, they stay close to the nest for two to four days. Then they are out in the open. 

Weka

Wood Pigeon's (Kereru's) feathers change color in different lights and are so glossy they shimmer. Maori legend says that the wood pigeon's colors come from the clothes the  God Maui wore when he changed into a pigeon so that he could visit the underworld to look for his parents. Wood pigeons are NZ's largest flighted forest bird. In spring the male wood pigeons show off to the females with amazing flying displays through the trees. They swoop up out of the forest high into the air and then zoom down through the trees and back up again just missing the branches around them. Wood pigeons feed on berries and fruit from February to March and foliage, especially Kowhai leaves, from June to January. They play a very important role in dispersing the seed of many of the native plants. Wood pigeons were an important food source for early settlers and Maori who used to hunt them. During autumn the birds feast on miro berries which make them thirsty so Maori would set nooses along the riverbanks. The birds would come to drink and as they stood up would trap themselves in the noose. The hunter could then come along and collect up the birds for dinner. Nesting usually occurs from November to March and although their nests are simply flimsy platforms of sticks, wood pigeons are very good parents. They only have one chick, which they feed on milk that they excrete from the crops. Later the chicks feed on fruit pulp and they leave the nest after about six weeks. The wood pigeon has been fully protected since 1921 and numbers have gradually increased in more areas. Wood pigeons hardly ever coo but they make up for this by being very noisy ass they crash through trees. 

Wood Pigeon

The red-crowned parakeet like their cousins were known as kakariki by Maori due to their bright green color. When well cared for, red-crowned parakeets successfully raise many youngsters in aviaries throughout New Zealand and increasingly in many parts of the world. However, in the wild in NZ, rats and stoats prey on their nests and although they survive in large numbers on offshore islands, they are not scarce throughout the North and South Islands. Red-crowned parakeets tend to feed in lower parts of the forest and frequently on forest edges and to lower altitudes and so are perhaps more vulnerable to predators. Both the red and yellow crowned parakeets use the forest canopy as they search for food. They eat a large variety of plants including buds, seeds, leaves and berries. When amongst foliage their plumage blends perfectly with the leaves and it is very difficult to see them until they more. Once recognized, their three note call given while foraging indicates others are in the vicinity. They also have a different loud chattering flight call. Nests are in hollow branches or in holes in trunks, sometimes quite close to the ground. Most nesting occurs in spring and summer but it is believed that if there were enough food they would nest all year round. Red-crowned parakeets lay up to nine white eggs which they incubate for about 18-20 days. The male feeds the female with partly digested food outside of the nest. When the chicks hatch, the male continues to feed the female who then in turn passes the food to the chicks. As the chicks grow, the female leaves the nest more often to find food for herself and so the male looks after the youngsters. At five or six weeks the young leave the nest hole but the parents feed them for another week or two. These young will nest the following year. 

Red-crowned Parakeet