I can’t resist writing a post about the birds of New Zealand. No surprise to readers, I was fascinated by the animals of NZ, many of which have been brought in for a variety of reasons. As many of you know, NZ has no native mammals except two species of bats, and has suffered greatly from the importation of many species, including the Australian possum, stoats (Mustela erminea, think weasel or ermine) pigs, deer, and many species of birds. Rats, cats and a host of other critters have hitch-hiked their way in and caused their own set of problems. By the way, the possum in NZ is nothing like the marsupial creature in North America. The possum in question, which is endangered in its own native land, is, uh… I’m sorry, I can’t help it … adorably cute. It is also eating its way through the forest of NZ, and is a terrible and destructive pest on native vegetation and animal life. One ran down the lane in front of our car one evening and we all resisted melting into an oxytocin haze as we recalled all the damage they do. Stoats too have wreaked havoc on native wildlife, especially ground nesting birds. Stoats were brought in to control rabbits, who were also brought in (will we ever learn?), and their importation (stoats) is considered one of the worst ecological mistakes made in NZ. What’s especially galling to me is that biologists warned against it, predicting disaster even in the late 1800’s, and they were completely ignored. Now the country is spending huge amounts of money (good for them) trying to control them and save several species of ground nesting birds, including the Kiwi.
Here’s a native bird though, the Australian Gannet. After the seminar we got to visit a nesting colony of Gannets on Muriwai Beach, and it was heaven for me. Gannets are the fighter jets of the avian world, gorgeous flyers who spend most of their time on the wing over the ocean. When they spot food, they tuck their wings and dive like bullets. They only come to shore to breed, and the observation colony at this location allows you to watch their greeting ceremonies (necks twisting like DNA strands) when one member of the pair comes back to relieve the other on the nest. I could have stayed there for hours.
Here’s the Pukeko, pronounced “Poo Keh Ko,” another native bird of damp pastures and wetlands. It’s the size of a small duck, related to Gallinules (also known as a Purple Gallinule), and is best described by a friend of mine as a “Dr. Suess” bird. A traveling companion and I both think this particular bird had a youngster hiding in the grasses. We watched this one and its mate scold and display to us, but never leave the area, and Jim and I had seen a pair with a young one walking in the same area not long before. Most importantly, showing you this picture gives me an opportunity to say PUKEKO over and over again. For reasons I can not begin to explain, saying PUKEKO gives me an inordinate measure of pleasure. PUKEKO.
Here’s the most famous bird of New Zealand, the Kea parrot. Keas are parrots found in the mountains of NZ, are highly social and scary smart. We were warned on the Milford hike to lock our doors in the lodge where Keas are common, and to resist being charmed by a Kea dancing in front of us like a tap dancer. Apparently while one transfixes you with its antics, the others sneak through the door behind you and rifle your backpacks. They also rip windshield wipers off of cars, tear open anything they can get their beak on, and one even broke into a tourist’s backpack and flew away with his passport. One of our guides told us there had been some interesting research on Kea cognition and cooperative problem solving, but I haven’t had a chance to find it yet. If anyone knows of any articles let us know in the comment section. If not, we’ll look it up at the office.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: It was 15 F below zero (about 26 below Centegrade) when we got up Tuesday morning, after a 40 hour trip home. Exactly why I choose to live in a place in which it is 15 degrees warmer in the freezer compartment of one’s refrigerator is unclear to me at the moment. But the lambs are thriving, Willie is a happy boy, while Sushi is not pleased in the least. She asks to go out, stays out 60 seconds, cries to come in, and then asks again 30 minutes later. Apparently she is an optimist at heart. It’s warmer today, got up to 18 F! Wheee!
Here’s a great photo of Willie taken by my amazing, perfect house sitters:
Mary says
Sounds like a fantastic trip. Welcome back, safe and sound. Looks like Willie may be due for a new frisbee for Christmas.
Pamela says
All the pictures were amazing. But I still think you saved the best for last.
Carolyn says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l0DNaVQ-P4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I had never heard of this bird before, but I was able to find a short summary clip of these smart birds in action.
Catherine says
I’ve enjoyed the vicarious trip to NZ – thanks for sharing your observations and photos! Welcome home. What a *great* shot of Willie!
Karen says
Willie looks so radiant!!
Electric Landlady says
Lovely! And welcome back!
(…but isn’t the kiwi the most famous bird of New Zealand?)
Liz says
What a wonderful pic of Willie! Thanks for posting 🙂
trisha says
So true, Electric Landlady (?), the Kiwi really is the most famous bird of NZ (we love that Kiwi’s are e things: fruits – originally from China and now often grown there as a NZ modified version of the original — birds AND the folks of NZ. But hey, if you’re an animal behaviorist, Kea’s are the most famous!
Here are some great articles sent by my friend and colleague, Julie Hecht, researcher extraordinaire about Kea behavior and cognition: (but I DO wish I’d seen a Kiwi!)
http://www.keaconservation.co.nz/pdfs/cooperation_in_kea.pdf
http://behav.zoology.unibe.ch/sysuif/uploads/files/Huber_et_al_2001.pdf
http://www.keaconservation.co.nz/pdfs/string_pulling_in_kea.pdf
Barbara says
We are all so envious of your great trip. But I bet you are thrilled to be back home to snuggle up with Willie! This came up when I Googled Kea parrot cognition. Looks like some great studies.
http://cogbio.univie.ac.at/labs/kea-lab/
Nicola says
fascinating articles on the kea – but it is the photo of Will that warms my heart…
Melissa says
I think it’s arguable whether the possums in NZ are still the same as the ones in Australia, but if they are, their Aussie counterparts are doing fabulously well in a human-dominated environment. These guys are practically born tame and if they live in the suburbs they will let you walk right up to them. We used to have one living in our garage (doesn’t everyone?) when I was a kid. I called her Angie and hand-fed her bananas. When she had a baby she brought it around so I could melt at how freaking adorable it was. They are tough as old boots and can be a disaster if they happen to get inside your house. Absolute disaster. One night a pair of them somehow got into a darkroom at my university and wreaked havoc. Every piece of glassware in the room was smashed. Anyway, they are generalists, so they can and will eat just about anything, particularly things like roses. They like to live in ceilings and have been known to chew holes in walls and power cables and the likes. They are fiercely territorial and the noises they make when they fight are otherwordly.
Aside from that, they are loads of fun. In my undergrad days there was a PhD student in our department that ran experiments on them. Each experiment she would trap a half dozen of these guys and put them in big cages and feed them for a couple of months then let them go. Every time she set traps one possum in particular would jump in on the first night. Apparently he found captivity quite agreeable. Some would quickly become very tame and happily accept head scratches. They are protected here in Australia, but only because they are native.
One of these days I’ll make it over to NZ and do some serious birding. It’s only a 3 hour flight away!
em says
Welcome home! Fascinating articles on the kea (I confess that the name makes me giggle a bit, mostly due to end-of-semester grading giddiness, I think, because every time my fatigued eyes see it, my mind tries to read it as ‘Ikea’ and I picture these crazy clever birds arriving in a little cardboard box, ready to hop out and assemble Scandinavian furniture. Too little sleep…:-))
Glad to hear that all are doing well at home on the farm, freezing temperatures notwithstanding. My sympathies on Sushi’s dilemma. I have a cat who does the same thing, except that she doesn’t last even that long. She HOWLS to go outside, especially if the sun shines, then dithers in the open doorway until I threaten to close it, sets one paw into the snow on the deck, turns around and RUNS back through the door. Ten minutes later, it begins again, despite the fact that she can clearly see the snow still on the ground. Maybe she figures that that hateful white stuff might no longer be made out of frozen water…hope springs eternal, I suppose.
Dennis Nuberg says
Loved all your posts and views about your time in NZ. It so nice to hear you had a good time and sooo special you had such good weather in Fiordland!!
Great to see your pics putting in a plug for the NZ Huntaway ( I have two, and yes, Bark they do!!)
I think they are NZ’s contibution to an ever evolving dog world and dogs being specialized within the working realm and were selection is not determined by a trophy in a show.
Your seminar in Auckland was superb and having met you and seen your passion in person just confrims why all the info you share is an enjoyable and educational experience.
P.S Yes, why do you go to live in such a COLD place?? I cant imagine it and I know my dogs would need head-to-toe thermals to cope with that!!
Melanie S says
That photo of Willie is sensational!
If you want to see a great (and very entertaing) doco on Kea parrots, search for “Last Chance to See” in which Stephen Fry (British comedian/intellectual/actor/etc….) teams up with naturalist Mark Carwadine to seek out some of the most endangered creatures on our planet. They retrace (in part) journeys that Mark made with author Douglas Adams (of “Hitchhikers…” fame) a couple of decades ago. An absolutely wonder-full series, and a great episode in NZ.
Smiles…
Melanie S says
Oh, BTW, when I visited NZ in 1997 I had a parallel PUKEKO moment, except for me it was the Pohutukawa tree that caught my linguistic/phonetic fancy. All these years later I every so often say “Pohutukawa” just for the heck of it, cause it sounds good and, like you said, there’s an inexplicable pleasure in it…
Big grin…
Sam says
What a great trip to NZ! Though the adventure was vicarious, my tickets were cheaper. :0)
You posted some excellent photos; i.e. the one of the gannets was outstanding. And tho’ you didn’t take it, Willie’s portrait is full of beans. Welcome back to the farm.
Susan G. says
I’m jealous of your trip (and of your perfect house sitters). Thanks for sharing while you were there. From the looks of it, Willie shares your high opinion of the house sitters! What a great photo.
Christine says
I madly fell in love with Keas myself when I first met them. I came across this 3 part video a while back. While not super scientific, it still has intersting info, I think. And David Attenborough did it.
Dena (Izzee's Mom) says
PUKEKO, PUKEKO, PUKEKO, PUKEKO, PUKEKO!