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New Zealand Comprehensive II Trip Report 31St October to 16Th November 2016 (17 Days)
New Zealand Comprehensive II Trip Report 31st October to 16th November 2016 (17 days) The Critically Endangered South Island Takahe by Erik Forsyth Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Erik Forsyth RBL New Zealand – Comprehensive II Trip Report 2016 2 Tour Summary New Zealand is a must for the serious seabird enthusiast. Not only will you see a variety of albatross, petrels and shearwaters, there are multiple- chances of getting out on the high seas and finding something unusual. Seabirds dominate this tour and views of most birds are alongside the boat. There are also several land birds which are unique to these islands: kiwis - terrestrial nocturnal inhabitants, the huge swamp hen-like Takahe - prehistoric in its looks and movements, and wattlebirds, the saddlebacks and Kokako - poor flyers with short wings Salvin’s Albatross by Erik Forsyth which bound along the branches and on the ground. On this tour we had so many highlights, including close encounters with North Island, South Island and Little Spotted Kiwi, Wandering, Northern and Southern Royal, Black-browed, Shy, Salvin’s and Chatham Albatrosses, Mottled and Black Petrels, Buller’s and Hutton’s Shearwater and South Island Takahe, North Island Kokako, the tiny Rifleman and the very cute New Zealand (South Island wren) Rockwren. With a few members of the group already at the hotel (the afternoon before the tour started), we jumped into our van and drove to the nearby Puketutu Island. Here we had a good introduction to New Zealand birding. Arriving at a bay, the canals were teeming with Black Swans, Australasian Shovelers, Mallard and several White-faced Herons. -
State and Trends in the Diversity, Abundance and Distribution of Birds in Upper Hutt City
State and trends in the diversity, abundance and distribution of birds in Upper Hutt City May 2018 1 State and trends in the diversity, abundance and distribution of birds in Upper Hutt City. Nikki McArthur1, Jonathan Walter2 and Samantha Ray1 1Wildlife Management International Ltd 2C/- Greater Wellington Regional Council PO Box 607 Shed 39 Blenheim 7240 2 Fryatt Quay New Zealand Pipitea www.wmil.co.nz Wellington 6011 This report was prepared by Wildlife Management International Limited for Greater Wellington Regional Council in fulfilment of the Contract for Services dated 20th October 2017. 30th May 2018 Citation: This report should be cited as: McArthur, N.; Walter, J. and Ray, S. 2018. State and trends in the diversity, abundance and distribution of birds in Upper Hutt City. Client report prepared for Greater Wellington Regional Council. Wildlife Management International Ltd, Blenheim. All photographs in this report are copyright © WMIL unless otherwise credited, in which case the person or organization credited is the copyright holder. Cover Image: Whitehead (Mohoua albicilla). Photo credit: Jared Le Roy/New Zealand Birds Online (http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Five-minute bird counts have been carried out at 45 bird count stations situated in native forest habitat in six selected Upper Hutt City parks and reserves each year between 2011 and 2017. The aim of these surveys is to monitor trends in the diversity, abundance and distribution of native forest birds in Upper Hutt City’s reserve network, to provide a measure of local biodiversity management outcomes. Between 26 and 37 bird species were detected during these bird counts each year, with approximately half of these species being native species and half being introduced and naturalised species. -
New Zealand Garden Bird Survey – Analysis of the First Four Years
AvailableSpurr: Garden on-line Bird at: Surveyhttp://www.newzealandecology.org/nzje/ 1 special issue: Advances in tools for bird population monitoring in New Zealand New Zealand Garden Bird Survey – analysis of the first four years Eric B. Spurr Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand Email: [email protected] Published on-line: 30 July 2012 Abstract: The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey started in 2007 primarily to monitor long-term trends in common garden bird populations. The method was based on the Big Garden Birdwatch in the UK. Volunteers spent one hour in midwinter each year recording for each bird species the largest number of individuals detected at any one time in their gardens, as an index of abundance. A large number of species was recorded, the two most numerous being house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and silvereye (Zosterops lateralis). There was regional variation in species occurrence and abundance; more species and more individuals of most species in rural than in urban gardens; more individuals of some species and fewer of others in gardens where supplementary food was provided; and changes in the abundance of some species over the 4 years. Potential problems with the methodology and interpretation of the data are discussed. As a consequence of convenience sampling the results apply only to the gardens of participants, not necessarily New Zealand as a whole. The survey has the potential to alert authorities to changes in garden bird population trends, and to provide circumstantial evidence of the success or otherwise of management actions such as restoration planting. Keywords: abundance; indices; occurrence; population monitoring; population trends; supplementary feeding Introduction of native bird species that are either resident in domestic gardens year round or visit domestic gardens in winter. -
Feeding Association Between Fantails
IAN G. McLEAN 165 Department of Zoology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Present address: Department of Biology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada TIK 3M4 FEEDING ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FANTAILS AND SADDLEBACKS: WHO BENEFITS? Summary: A feeding association between tWo New Zealand passerine birds, saddlebacks (Philesturnus carunculatus, Callaeidae), and fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa, Muscicapidae) is described. Saddlebacks are poor fliers, give loud vocalisations, and feed noisily. These characteristics allow fantails to find saddlebacks and to capture insects disturbed by the saddleback's activity. Fantails follow at a distance of about 50 cm, and tend to remain behind and below the saddleback. Fantails use different feeding sites when feeding in association with saddlebacks than they use when feeding alone. Keywords: Feeding association, fantail, Rhipidura fuliginosa, Muscicapidae, saddleback, Philesturnus carunculatus, Callaeidae, feeding sites, Cuvier Island, New Zealand. Introduction Cuvier Island (36°26'S, 175°64'E) during two Some birds obtain a portion of their prey by weeks in each of May, August, November, and taking animals disturbed by the activities of other December 1973, and May 1981. Saddlebacks organisms. Examples of this use of others as became extinct on the island in the late nineteenth "beaters" (Diamond, 1981) are cattle egrets century, but 29 individuals were released there in (Bubulcus ibis) which follow large ungulates 1968. Approximately 100 were present on the (Thompson, Lanyon and Thompson, 1982), and study area in 1973, and 350 in 1981 birds that follow columns of army ants (Willis (C. R. Veitch, unpubl. data). Numbers of fantails and Oniki, 1978). Other examples may be found remained at about 40 during the two study in MacDonald and Henderson (1977), periods. -
Temporal Changes in Birds and Bird Song Detected in Zealandia Sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand, Over 2011-2015
173 Notornis, 2015, Vol. 62: 173-183 0029-4470 © The Ornithological Society of New Zealand Inc. Temporal changes in birds and bird song detected in Zealandia sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand, over 2011-2015 BEN D. BELL Centre for Biodiversity & Restoration Ecology, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Abstract Bird counts were carried out in Zealandia sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand, along a 6.3 km slow-walk transect, every 3 weeks for 4 years (2011-2015). The mean ± se number of species detected per count was 30.0 ± 0.4 (range 22-37) and the mean ± se total of individuals detected per count was 572.7 ± 12.8 birds (range 361-809). Of 43 species detected, 15 occurred on every count, 8 on most, 13 less frequently and 7 only occasionally. Forest birds were mostly first detected by sound, but water or wetland birds mostly by sight. For 35 species with sufficient data to model, significant seasonal changes occurred in 9 species (26%) and significant annual changes in 4 species (11%), with the total of birds counted peaking in late summer/autumn. Song output varied amongst passerines, with large seasonal effects in 6 European introduced species, but lower seasonal effects in 9 native species. Bell, B.D. 2015. Temporal changes in birds and bird song detected in Zealandia sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand, over 2011-2015. Notornis 62 (4): 173-183. Keywords transect-counts; conspicuousness; seasonality; introductions; bird song INTRODUCTION the interplay between the birds’ conspicuousness Relatively recent initiation of mainland island and their actual numbers (Gibb 1996; Sullivan sites constitutes an important step in ecosystem- 2012). -
The Responses of New Zealand's Arboreal Forest Birds to Invasive
The responses of New Zealand’s arboreal forest birds to invasive mammal control Nyree Fea A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington Te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui 2018 ii This thesis was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Hartley (primary supervisor) School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, New Zealand and Associate Professor Wayne Linklater (secondary supervisor) School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, New Zealand iii iv Abstract Introduced mammalian predators are responsible for over half of contemporary extinctions and declines of birds. Endemic bird species on islands are particularly vulnerable to invasions of mammalian predators. The native bird species that remain in New Zealand forests continue to be threatened by predation from invasive mammals, with brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) ship rats (Rattus rattus) and stoats (Mustela erminea) identified as the primary agents responsible for their ongoing decline. Extensive efforts to suppress these pests across New Zealand’s forests have created “management experiments” with potential to provide insights into the ecological forces structuring forest bird communities. To understand the effects of invasive mammals on birds, I studied responses of New Zealand bird species at different temporal and spatial scales to different intensities of control and residual densities of mammals. In my first empirical chapter (Chapter 2), I present two meta-analyses of bird responses to invasive mammal control. I collate data from biodiversity projects across New Zealand where long-term monitoring of arboreal bird species was undertaken. -
ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY of NEW ZEALAND (Inc) Wellington Region Newsletter December 2009 And
THE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND (Inc) Wellington Region Newsletter December 2009 www.osnz.org.nz and www.notornis.org.nz Monthly Meetings in Wellington City We meet on the first Monday of each month (January and June excepted) at the Head Office of the Department of Conservation (DOC) (“Conservation House” – Te Whare Atawhai), 18-32 Manners Street, Wellington (located between Manners Mall and Willis Street). Please wait outside the glass entrance doors for a DOC staff member / OSNZ member to admit you through the entrance security system and to the meeting room on the 4th floor. Access is available between 7:20 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Meetings commence at 7:45 p.m. If you are late please telephone (027) 230-8454 and someone will come to the door to let you in. Periodic Meetings in Kapiti Coast District Meetings are held periodically at the Paraparaumu Public Library Meeting Room, 179 Rimu Road, Paraparaumu, commencing at 7.30 pm. AAmple car parking is available. Tea and coffee are served before the meeting. If you are late please telephone (027) 230-8454 and someone will come to the door to let you in. Programme from February to September 2010 1st February: “Member’s Evening.” An opportunity for members‟ presentations on their summer bird watching, bird study and bird conservation activities. Please let the RR know during January if you wish to make a presentation. 1st March: Wellington Region AGM – followed by a talk on “Some Observations on Wildlife, including Birds and their Environments, in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador”. -
SHORT NOTE Update on North Island Tomtit (Petroica Macrocephala Toitoi)
91 Notornis, 2019, Vol. 66: 91-94 0029-4470 © The Ornithological Society of New Zealand Inc. SHORT NOTE Update on North Island tomtit (Petroica macrocephala toitoi) at Atuanui, Mount Auckland B. MICHAUX PO Box 191, Kaukapakapa 0843, New Zealand H. TAPARAU Nga Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Development Trust, PO Box 41, Te Awaroa, Helensville 0840, New Zealand Since an initial study of North Island tomtit Settlement in 2011. Nga Maunga Whakahii o (miromiro; Petroica macrocephala toitoi) at the Kaipara Development Trust was set up to manage 615 hectare Atuanui Scenic Reserve (36.447°S, the reserve, with the aim of restoring Atuanui’s 174.459°E) reported in Michaux (2009), a number ecology and eventually releasing North Island of pest control programmes have been carried out. brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli). Pest control was re- The Kaipara branch of Forest and Bird sponsored established in 2014 and continues to the present the Atuanui Restoration Project, and established (April, 2019). The bait station grid established by 632 bait stations set out on two 100m X 100m Forest and Bird was baited with PindoneTM, and grids (east and west of the ridge track), and baited supplemented with 150 DoC-200 stoat traps and with RatabateTM (active ingredient diphacinone), Sentinel possum traps arranged in four circuits. for a three year period from 2007–2009 (Forest Numbers of occupied miromiro territories and Bird, 2009). Fifty-five DoC-250 stoat traps were estimated using the method described were also placed around the boundary and an by Michaux (2009) and compiled for the years unspecified number of Timms traps for common 2012–2018. -
Key Bird Titles from Csiro Publishing
No. 16 December 2017 Birds New Zealand The Magazine of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand Birds New Zealand NO. 16 DECEMBER 2017 Proud supporter of Birds New Zealand 3 President’s Report 4 Conference & AGM 2018 We are thrilled with our decision 5 Birds NZ Research Fund 2017 to support Birds New Zealand. Hoiho research Fruzio’s aim is to raise awareness of the dedicated 8 work of Birds New Zealand and to enable wider 8 Australasian Bittern tracking public engagement with the organisation. We have re-shaped our marketing strategy and made a firm 10 Seabird research commitment of $100,000 to be donated over the 11 NZ's oldest Royal Spoonbills course of the next 3 years. Follow our journey on: www.facebook/fruzio. 12 Whangarua birds, 1972-2016 PUBLISHERS 15 Reviews Published on behalf of the members of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand 16 Regional Roundup (Inc), P.O. Box 834, Nelson 7040, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] Website: www.osnz.org.nz Bird News Editor: Michael Szabo, 6/238 The Esplanade, Island Bay, Wellington 6023. 19 Email: [email protected] Tel: (04) 383 5784 ISSN 2357-1586 (Print) ISSN 2357-1594 (Online) We welcome advertising enquiries. Free classified ads for members are at the COVER IMAGE editor’s discretion. Articles or illustrations related to birds in New Zealand and the Front cover: Australasian Bittern or Matuku, Waikanae Estuary, 2017. South Pacific region are welcome in electronic form, such as news about birds, Photo by Imogen Warren members’ activities, birding sites, identification, letters, reviews, or photographs. -
REVIEW This Is an Excellent Summary of Many Perplexing Problems That I Recommend to All
54 REVIEW This is an excellent summary of many perplexing problems that I recommend to all. The bulk of the book (about 150 pages) comprises a discussion and review of the systematics of each order from a The Systematics and Taxonomy of species-level perspective and the book finishes with Australian Birds an extensive and useful assemblage of references. In a review of the 1994 volume Joel Cracraft wrote Leslie Christidis & Walter E. Boles “Given that this is a species list, one might expect the authors to adopt a particular species definition. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 2008. 227 pp. They really don’t do this. In the introduction they Hardback - ISBN: 9780643065116 - AU $69.95. discuss the competing species concepts--biological Paperback - ISBN: 9780643096028 - AU $49.95 versus phylogenetic--at some length, but make no operational decision about which they will apply”. Little has changed in this volume yet I do This well laid-out book by two of Australia’s leading not condemn the authors for the lack of rigor - they systematic ornithologists updates the inventory of have done their best in an imperfect world. If we had avian species in Australia and its territories (which complete mitochondrial and nucleic genomes for includes Christmas, Cocos (Keeling), Heard, Lord every species and a complete understanding of the Howe, Macquarie and Norfolk Islands, the islands morphology and osteology of every terminal taxa of Torres Strait and Ashmore Reef, as well as the then, yes, defining a species concept (i.e., drawing a Australian Antarctic Territories). This coverage line in the sand and sticking by it) would be a great is expanded from the 1994 “Taxonomy and idea. -
Bird Species of Concern at Wind Farms in New Zealand
Bird species of concern at wind farms in New Zealand R.G. Powlesland DOC RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SERIES 317 Published by Publishing Team Department of Conservation PO Box 10420, The Terrace Wellington 6143, New Zealand DOC Research & Development Series is a published record of scientific research carried out, or advice given, by Department of Conservation staff or external contractors funded by DOC. It comprises reports and short communications that are peer-reviewed. Individual contributions to the series are first released on the departmental website in pdf form. Hardcopy is printed, bound, and distributed at regular intervals. Titles are also listed in our catalogue on the website, refer www.doc.govt.nz under Publications, then Science & technical. © Copyright September 2009, New Zealand Department of Conservation ISSN 1176–8886 (hardcopy) ISSN 1177–9306 (web PDF) ISBN 978–0–478–14676–9 (hardcopy) ISBN 978–0–478–14677–6 (web PDF) This report was prepared for publication by the Publishing Team; editing and layout by Amanda Todd. Publication was approved by the General Manager, Research and Development Group, Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. In the interest of forest conservation, we support paperless electronic publishing. When printing, recycled paper is used wherever possible. CONTENTS Abstract 5 1. Introduction 6 2. Potential impacts of wind farms on New Zealand bird species 7 2.1 Kiwi (family Apterygidae) 9 2.2 Grebes (order Podicipedidae) 10 2.3 Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters (order Procellariiformes) 11 -
BIRD LIST NEW ZEALAND South Island – (31
AROUND THE WORLD – BIRD LIST NEW ZEALAND South Island – (31) North Island – (10) Yellow-eyed penguin North Island robin Blue penguin Saddleback White-faced heron Stitchbird (hihi) Black swan Eastern rosella South Island pied oystercatcher Banded rail Variable oystercatcher Pied shag New Zealand pigeon Welcome swallow Bellbird Banded dotterel Tui New Zealand pipit Australian magpie Paradise shelduck Tomtit Silvereye Blackbird Song thrush Chaffinch Yellow hammer Royal spoonbill New Zealand falcon New Zealand fantail Red-billed gull Black-backed gull Gray warbler Bar-tailed godwit Pied stilt Goldfinch Black shag Black-billed gull Spur-winged plover (masked lapwing) California quail Pukeko Common mynah Cook Strait Ferry – (5) Spotted shag Westland petrel Gannet Fluttering shearwater Buller’s albatross AUSTRALIA Queensland (QLD) – (33) Tasmania (TAS) – (11) Whimbrel Superb fairywren Willie wagtail Tasmanian nativehen (turbo chook) Magpie-lark Dusky moorhen White-breasted wood swallow Green rosella Red-tailed black cockatoo Yellow wattlebird (endemic) Sulphur-crested cockatoo Hooded dotterel (plover) Figbird Galah Rainbow lorikeet Crescent honeyeater Pied (Torresian) imperial pigeon Great cormorant Australian pelican Swamp harrier Greater sand plover Forest raven Pectoral sandpiper Peaceful dove Victoria (VIC) – (10) Australian brush-turkey Emu Australian (Torresian) crow Gray fantail Common noddy Pacific black duck Brown booby King parrot Australian white ibis Australian wood duck Straw-necked ibis Red wattlebird Magpie goose Bell miner Bridled