Citizen Science Inspired Poetry

Beachcombers, Pukerua Bay

Finding a Rare Butterfly - Butterfly & Moth Citizen Science

In September 2020 I read "Finding Forest Ringlets" in Forest and Bird magazine. I'd not heard of Forest Ringlet butterflies before, but was intrigued by the article. I never imagined I'd see such a rare butterfly. The article says "It's estimated that fewer than 100 people have seen and identified the butterfly in the wild." 

At Risk - Forest Ringlet Butterfly

When I'm tramping in the bush, I'm always on the lookout for interesting things, berries on the forest floor, unusual fungi and so on. When I walk along the coast, I keep an eye out for copper butterflies. Now I added looking for butterflies in the forest. I was looking for a glimpse of fluttering orange - but the first butterfly I spotted in the bush was a red admiral. On another tramp I caught a glimpse of orange but the butterfly was gone before I could identify it. 

Counting Litter - the good, the bad and the ugly

What's wrong with these pictures of scenic tourist spots?

Tawhai Falls, Tongariro National Park with Food Wrapper

Huka Falls, Taupō with Food Wrapper

Lake Taupō with Used Baby's Nappy (Diaper)

Yes, you guessed it Litter! They're not the shots I chose for my Instagram feed. In fact I nearly didn't take them at all. But if I'm always looking for the most beautiful shot, my photos aren't telling the whole truth about what I'm seeing. So I asked myself, what is the truth about litter in New Zealand?

If no one picks it up, what happens to this litter?

Penguin Walks - kororā count

On a couple of spring days every year, volunteers from Kāpiti Biodiversity Project get up very early. It's still dark outside as they make their way to a meeting point at Paekakariki Beach. It's chilly and they are rugged up in coats and hats. As the sky begins to brighten, they make their way slowly along the beach scanning the sand for footprints.

A trail of footprints being examined by volunteers

The tide is out, the sand has been washed clean of yesterday's footprints, so any new prints on the beach have been made since the last high tide. The volunteers are looking for prints like these:

A Coastal Walk - animals that I see in Pukerua Bay

After writing about the plants of my coastal pathway in my last blogpost, Cyclone Gita blew in. Extraordinarily high seas washed away much of the pathway and deposited massive piles of driftwood on what was left. Plants on the sea side of the path have mostly died, but not all.  I hope they are resilient.

Driftwood covers the path

Taking this path, very occasionally right around to Plimmerton, but usually to the Pukerua Bay Scientific Reserve and back, I've had the privilege of seeing many different animals, some unexpected.

Fur seals make occasional appearances along the coast

It's only recently that I've attempted to photograph them. More often than not I only have my phone camera handy. Photos are a good way to convey an animals features or behaviour to others. We get instant recognition, responding with an "Ah yes that's what I saw on my beach" or "how amazing who knew gulls would do that?"

A Coastal Walk - naming the plants

Volunteer work takes me for a walk along the coast several mornings a month in summer.  Walking the same path, day after day, isn't dull or a chore. 

The path along the coast, white-faced heron ahead

Each day, I see something different, depending perhaps on the weather or the tide, or I see something differently. Sometimes there are big changes: a storm leaves soft-bodied jelly fish and bright orange sponges stranded on the beach and covers the path with driftwood. 

Articles and Interviews - a round up of recent publications

I've been appearing in the media quite a bit recently. For an update of articles, reviews and interviews - by me or about me - read on.

Interview with Me and Reviews of My Books
Shaun Barnett interviewed Ned Barraud and I for the December issue of Backcountry -  the FMC magazine - we talk about our illustration and writing work and what influenced us. Shaun also reviewed two of the books in the  'Explore and Discover' series. We were in great company, this issue also includes photography competition winners, a photo-essay on caves and an item pack-rafting.

An illustration from 'In the Bush' features
on the cover of Backcountry

 "In the Bush is perfect for a junior tramper wanting to know more about our forests and the creatures that inhabitat them." Shaun Barnett in Backcountry

A selection of other reviews: 

Getting Past the 'ick' Factor: for a Predator Free New Zealand

There's a momentum building across the country, as community after community sets up 'Predator Free' or 'Pest Free' groups. Last November, Predator Free Pukerua Bay kicked off with a well attended meeting in the local hall.  We weren't starting from scratch as in the Pukerua Bay scientific Reserve volunteers were trapping for weasels, stoats, and rats, and around the reserves Greater Wellington Regional Council has bait stations. Also a few locals were already trapping on their sections. But this was just a drop in the ocean compared to what we could do together as a community.

Why we trap - to protect our native wildlife

Nature Highlights (New Zealand) - my best of 2016

2016 Nature Highlights

Garden Bird Survey and Volunteer Week - Citizen Science at its best

Days, Weeks or Months that highlight different causes or ideas pander to our short attention spans, but if we only volunteer in volunteer week, not much would get done around the country! I'd like to think Volunteer Week gets people started, selecting a cause to volunteer with. There are so many deserving causes, there really is something for everyone, whether it is helping make breakfasts in schools , delivery library books to the housebound, patrolling a dangerous beach as a lifeguard or building rat traps.

Rat traps for gardens and parks in Paekakariki 

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)

Who's In the Garden? my Garden Bird Survey

For a number of years now I've been counting birds as part of the annual Garden Bird Survey. To start with it seemed a bit artificial only counting the birds seen in one hour. But knowing that many birds are visiting, moving from one garden to another, it's a fair approach. What began as a simple survey led me to was to spend more time looking at who was in my garden and when.

Fantails weren't here at survey time this year

Kereru Count & Citizen Science

I have a new appreciation of kereru - New Zealand pigeons. I've been observing them more closely during the Great Kereru Count over the last fortnight.

Kereru on Banks Peninsula

Watching Nature with NatureWatchNZ

UPDATE 25.6.18 to this blog post: Nature Watch NZ is now iNaturalistNZ, you can see all my observations at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/candler

You may have noticed that a 'widget' has appeared below my blogposts, headed Nature Watch NZ.

Explore and Discover Nature is all about observing nature: quirky events like the By the Wind Sailor beach invasion last year or the Sea Foam after the Storm ; through seasonal observations such as Winter Walks in the Bush, to places to go and things to do when out and about.

By the Wind Sailors

Eagle-eyed bird watchers needed for cuckoo spotting - Massey University

Eagle-eyed bird watchers needed for cuckoo spotting - Massey University

Researchers from Massey University are wanting to know when you hear your first cuckoos this spring. Follow the link to find more information about the cuckoos (including the noise they make) and to find the forms to fill in when you  hear one. Once you have heard the sounds they make you won't forget them.

I'll be listening out for them next time I go walking in the bush.

Kotuku or White Heron in Porirua

 Spotted today, 1 August, a kotuku or white heron in Porirua.