The kakapo has been pinned with many adjectives. Shy, frisky, curious and romantic are ones that crop up most often, however one that is noticeably absent from the usual list of descriptors is ‘gloriously perfumed’. The cover of darkness means that fabulously coloured plumage will go unnoticed by potential mates. So instead it smells. Great. […]

It is the beginning of tadpole season and if there are frogs in your neighbourhood you should starting to hear their raucous calling. The frogs you will be hearing though are all Aussies brought here in the latter half of the 19th century. The endemic Leiopelma species do not use calls to attract mates – […]

The New Zealand falcon (kārearea) has finally soared to success as Bird of the Year in Forest & Bird’s eighth annual poll but what makes this bird such an admired and respected high flyer? “My bird, by power of charm arising, in the glance of an eye, like the sparrowhawk, by this charm shall my […]

Spring has sprung and already many native birds like tui, grey warblers, and fantails are getting ready to mate and build nests now. For native bird numbers to increase they need to be able to nest in peace. Night time studies have shown rats and possums harassing native birds to the point of exhaustion then […]

The rock wren – it wakes up to “100% Pure” views (for now), it has some serious eyebrows and it hops to the beat of its own drum. Vote rock wren for bird of the year 2012. Rugged The (petite) Edmund Hillary of the bird world, the rock wren is our only true alpine bird. […]

As the first shafts of morning light touch the golden sands of  Tata Beach, near Takaka, silhouettes of small groups of shags, and individual birds can be seen arriving, silently winging in from the nearby Tata Islands. Sometimes as few as about 200 birds  arrive and at other times there can be up to a […]

Campaign Manager(s) Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, www.ukulele.co.nz We love the tui. We love the heavenly honeyeater so much that it has pride of place on our logo. Here are just a few things that the tui has in common with the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra: 1. We both love honey. 2. The tui travels large distances […]

What:  Every year, Forest & Bird holds its Bird of the Year competition. And this year, I am the campaign manager for the rightful winner of that competition, the takahe. Who: Yes, the takahe. There’s one, right there, comin’ at ya. It’s the pukeko’s bigger, cooler, rarer cousin. And the news that the pukeko won […]

A bedraggled-looking possum floating on a log near Kapiti Island has hit the headlines recently. In a situation reminiscent of Robert Hewitt’s epic survival tale, where the keen ex-navy diver floated in the Kapiti currents for four days and three nights until being found by his navy friends off Mana Island, a possum floating on […]