Birds at the Beach - vulnerable and at risk

Red-billed gulls - tarāpunga
Nationally Vulnerable

Solitary stalkers, noisy pairs or squawking flocks - we rather take our shore birds for granted. Gulls in particular seem to be ever present, squabbling over a dead fish on the beach or trying to steal our fish and chips. So it came as a surprise to realise that red-billed gulls (tarāpunga) are considered to be 'nationally vulnerable'. The second surprise was that of all the birds in the bush-clad seaside village of Pukerua Bay, the ones that are under threat are almost all shore birds rather than those that live in the bush.

The Escarpment Walkway - a new challenge on Te Araroa

Local walkers are out in their hundreds walking the new escarpment track between Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay, which is great news for Paekakariki cafes and the shops in Pukerua Bay. The new track allows Te Araroa walkers (people walking the length of New Zealand) to avoid a long pavement walk alongside busy traffic on Centennial Highway. Instead they climb many, many steps up to about 220m and walk above the traffic and railway line. The views from the track on a good day, are stunning, with the South Island off to the distance and Kapiti Island much closer. Bits of Te Araroa are popular day walks and this will surely become one that many (but not all - see below under vertigo!) Wellington walkers will enjoy.

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

Weekly Walking Groups Growing in Numbers

What's driving the growth of walking groups? Intrigued by the increasing numbers in my group, I interviewed a cross-section of walking and tramping group members for an article in the most recent Wilderness magazine (October 2015) .  I hope the article inspires people to find a walking group that fits their style and join in.

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

Book Giveaways at Pauatahanui Clean Up

The Guardians of Pauatahanui Inlet (or GOPI for short) run an annual clean up around the inlet.

Always a popular event, there is a barbecue afterwards and of course the satisfaction of knowing you've done the environment a bit of good.  For children this year there was something extra, as my publisher Craig Potton Publishing agreed to donate a copy each of Under the Ocean and At the Beach to be spot prizes for children that helped out to be drawn at the barbecue.

Forest and Bird Walks in Wellington - from my journal

It's spring and heading into tramping season. Thanks to the longer days and warmer weather (and the fact that I'm between books) I've been able to go out with Forest and Bird on a lot of day walks. Here's a sample from my nature journal of what I've observed.

Puriri moth

WEDNESDAY 8th - KARAPOTI

Tramping out from seeing  the Giant Rata, a puriri moth was found by a fellow tramper on the pathway. He picked it up to move it to safety.  This is the first time I've seen a live puriri moth so I was pretty excited by this find. What a gorgeous mossy green and what big eyes it has!

Pilgrimage to a Tree - the largest known Northern Rata

In dense bush north of Wellington stands the truly awesome giant Karapoti Rata.

Forest and Bird trampers and the Karapoti Rata

Thought to be over 1000 years old, it is 39 metres high and has a girth or circumference of over 15m. To read about who measured it, see The New Zealand Tree Register. The register tells you the GPS location of the tree. But it's one thing to know the location, it's quite another to find the tree in the forest.

Mangaone Walkway - one of the best local bushwalks for family and friends

A short drive from Waikanae, tucked away behind the hills, at the end of the winding Managone South Road is one of the best easy bushwalks on the Kapiti Coast.

Features of this walk that make it a good one to introduce overseas visitors, non-tramping friends, children and grandchildren to the delights of bushwalks.

It starts with a Swing Bridge.

Nature Walks at Zealandia - edible plants

The Zealandia walking group sets out to explore Zealandia every second Monday. Recently we've been lucky enough to have some experts teach us more about the plants in Zealandia.

Nature Walks at Otari Wilton's Bush

Otari-Wilton's Bush is a Wellington treasure. Not only has New Zealand's native bush been preserved here, but special gardens hold a collection of plant treasures from around New Zealand. I've always thought of this as a great place to bring children to romp around in the bush, it's wild but not so wild that you could get horribly lost. Last year when I came here with some young cousins, we took the nature trail and while they enjoyed running ahead, we had them stop at each of the numbers to do some quick observation before running on helter-skelter down the track.

On Wednesday I came with quite a different group, members of the Forest and Bird Wellington Regional Tramping group. While the group is normally keen to move at a good pace they don't usually run helter-skelter! This time though we were all prepared to go very slowly, stopping and starting as volunteer guides from the Otari-Wilton's Bush Trust led us through the plant collections, showing us things to look for to help us with plant identification.

Day Trips in Wellington - Zealandia

Zealandia really is the best New Zealand nature experience for tourists in the capital. Visitors we took there said it was the best experience of their whole trip, and we were standing in pouring rain at the time!

Zealandia Great Value - Even Better Now

Zealandia launches lower price structure and enhanced visitor experience | Zealandia: The Karori Sanctuary Experience

Our overseas visitors love Zealandia. They say this is the best guided nature experience they've had in New Zealand. Our out-of-town visitors like it too. Hope this encourages more local people to get to know the sanctuary.

Enhancing the Halo in Wellington

Enhancing the Halo
Here's a great local project for families in Wellington. Join the Halo project and find out how to make your garden an attractive place for native birds.
There's even a photo competition.

Saving sand dunes in Waikanae

I used to love playing in the sand dunes, sliding down the soft sand. Now the sand dunes I played on are fenced off and are being restored by the Waikanae Dune Restoration group.

Sadly children playing and adults riding bikes and other vehicles over them, wore the dunes away and prevented plants from growing over them that would protect them. Just look at how churned up the sand is where people walk down to the beach.

Wellington's flowering kohekohe trees

Kohekohe flowers

 The kohekohe is an unusual flowering tree. Maybe you can spot something unusual about the flowers.

See Sirocco the kākāpō

If you live in or near Wellington, here is a great opportunity to get up close to a kākāpō. Siroccolandia: return of the kākāpō, with Alfie Kākā | Zealandia: The Karori Sanctuary Experience

I went to see Sirocco at Zealandia last year. It was a great experience to see for yourself how large these gorgeous birds are. Sirocco's keeper had a lot of interesting things to tell us too. The visits are all in the evening because kākāpō are nocturnal birds. It was enjoyable visiting the sanctuary at night. As we walked along to Sirocco's enclosure we heard the kiwi and morepork calling, which was a treat in itself.

Longfin eels

Eels always seemed mysterious to me, living in the dark places of rivers. Today I found out a bit more about the life they lead, yet what I found out just adds to their mystery. 

Longfin eels - tuna - have an amazing life. They start their lives out at sea, a long way from New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean, and they end their lives back there too. But in between, they swim as young eels or ‘elvers’ all the way to New Zealand. Once they are here, they grow into adult eels, and live in our freshwater rivers and lakes. Adult eels swim back out to the Pacific Ocean again to lay eggs and die. And the cycle starts again. 

Migrating animals are intriguing - how do they know to come here generation after generation?

The longfin eel has been declining in numbers, so I was lucky to see them in Nga Manu Nature Reserve today. 

Feeding time for the eels

DOC not just about building bridges

Forest and Bird have declared today "Love Doc Day". A perfect occasion to show my appreciation of the work the Department of Conservation does for New Zealand/Aotearoa and our natural treasures.

DOC's work has become fundamental to the way we enjoy and interact with our natural environment, from its visible structures such as huts and bridges, to visitor information and helpful hut wardens. But this experience is nothing if our native species are not protected; for then there would be little natural native environment left to enjoy.

DOC's work isn't just about building bridges, but I'm sure grateful this one was there