Bringing Back the Ocean-going Birds

Mention ocean-going birds and the mighty long-winged albatross comes to mind. But the ball of fluff I hold in my hands is no heavier than a pompom and not much larger. 

White-faced storm petrel chick

Weighing in at just 40-50 grams, white-faced storm petrels are a small miracle. The chick is so tiny, so delicate. But when I loosen my hold, the Jesus Christ bird rockets out, its long legs springing it off into the bushes. Once fledged this bird will be walking on water, its long legs and webbed feet bounding across the waves. For now though, I must wrangle it safely back into its burrow.

Tree Weta Encounters - why do they smell? and other questions

I've always felt that wētā, New Zealand's bizarre endemic insects, have an unfair reputation. They seem to bring out the worst in people, who shudder at the thought of touching those feelers and spiky legs. Children are often more curious about insects and bugs and less judgemental. So I happily included a tree wētā in Whose Feet are These? And it's one of the few animals in the book that most children guess right straightaway.

From "Whose Feet are These?" a male weta

Here's some of the things I learned about wētā when I was writing Whose Feet are These? and In the Garden:

The Pitfalls of Monitoring Skinks- our elusive native lizards

Picture this, early morning in summer and a couple of people crouched by the coastal path, wearing knee pads, peering into holes in the ground. No wonder the local dog walkers were suspicious! However they soon got to know who we were and what we were up to. The holes in the ground are pitfall traps of lizards, and we are a group of volunteers working with a lizard scientist (herpetologist) to monitor skinks in our local reserve.

Skink in a pitfall trap (other items removed)

Sardine Smoothies Again! Feeding seabirds on Mana Island

Last year I blogged about my volunteer week on Mana Island helping with the Fairy Prion translocation. You'd think the long days, hot sun, and the smell of sardines might have put me off - but when the call came out for volunteers for the second year of this project I couldn't resist the opportunity to put my name forward. I convinced myself that it was a chance to use the skills I'd learned the year before, that the work really hadn't been that hard, the smell of sardines not too bad, and that the sun couldn't surely be as hot again - not in a Wellington January.

Holding one of the new arrivals

Geckos in the Spotlight: volunteering on Mana Island

A trip to Mana Island, which is free from mammal predators and pests, is enough to show how incredible the lizard life of ancient New Zealand would have been. Mana is not only free from rats, cats, hedgehogs and stoats; there are also no mice here.

Feeding Fairy Prions - a volunteer's week on Mana Island

100 fairy prion chicks from Takapourewa/Stephens Island were welcomed on to Mana Island a week ago, on 22 January.

One of the 100 Fairy Prion chicks

World Heritage Day - protecting our natural heritage

What better way to spend World Heritage Day, than getting out and protecting our natural heritage. It just so happened that the stormy weather cleared and Friends of Mana Island volunteers were able to get out and clear the pest traps along the nearby mainland coast. Volunteers clear these DOC traps regularly, each time they are cleared the trap is set again and ready to catch another pest.