Early Spring 2012

The end of August is almost with us and several plant species have begun to flower. The daisy flower clusters of epyphitic Brachiglotis kirkii dot the bush and clematis is in flower further down the 309. It promises to be an impressive year for Olearia rani and manuka both of which have begun to flower. 

Kereru are looking magnificent and have been feeding on Tarairi berries. They have started their stalling display dives. Harriers have been displaying noisily high above the bush.

Tui are quieter than they were a month ago and bellbird are now more obvious.Tomtit, Grey Warbler and fantail are singing well joining many of the exotics. Song thrush are not numerous in the bush but there are a few singing well. Greenfinch have returned and joined the many Blackbird, Chaffinches and occasional Goldfinch as well as Dunnocks.  

A kaka flew low over the house a few mornings ago.

The recent rat monitoring has shown that the bush is very full of rats and accompanying stoats, probably due to last years bumper forest growth. We will need to get on top of these pests before the breeding season which promises to be prolific. 

tui, kiwi and more

It is now mid-winter but it looks like summer with a clear blue sky apart from a few wispy clouds well out to sea. The bush is looking very healthy following heavy rain earlier in the month. Olearia and many other sub canopy trees and shrubs are putting on new growth and there appear to be plenty of insects about - including Weta. Fungi of many kinds have stretched our identification abilities.
Most of our recent activities have been around estate birds.
In the past week or so there appears to have been an influx of tui. There were more than a dozen birds in one small dead tree - some singing, some squawking. I estimated a similar number of birds in the surrounding bush. The noise was quite deafening. Standing at the front door there are nearly always half a dozen or more birds visible in the emergent ridge-top rata or high overhead. We haven't been able to identify a food source that may have attracted them and it appears more like territorial behaviour. Maybe as a consequence of the tui activity there is very little sign of bellbirds. At times they call from the bush but they seem to be keeping a low profile. Not so the kereru. We saw a  flock of ten birds from the sitting room window and standing outside the house there are usually several birds visible including courting couples. One bird was stall-diving so they may be preparing to breed.
We now have a regular tomtit that feeds under the washing line and around the house. Its very soft call  and warble is usually the give away when it comes visiting - apparently attracted by our presence. Fantails usually keep us company and on fine, still days numerous birds are flitting above the bush. They also join the foraging silvereye flocks. I have counted flocks of more than fifty birds and on one occasion I estimated over one hundred birds feeding around the house. The bush was boiling with activity. There are usually a few grey warbler, bellbird and fantail in attendance. When in a five finger bush immediately outside the dining room window the silvereye were hunting insects amongst the berries.
We have been kiwi call counting recently. A combination of bio-acoustic recorders and call counting suggests that we only have 3 or 4 males on the estate and a possible female. Densities are certainly low and birds call infrequently. I had one bird come out onto the drive about 5 metres from me which was the first I had seen on the estate. Some nights the bush is alive with Morepork and at other times they seem few and far between. If no birds are calling you can lean back and admire the astonishing starscape!
Of the exotics - Song Thrush and Dunnock are singing and there was a covey of a dozen or so Quail beside the estate road.
Rat and possum monitoring starts soon so it will be interesting to see the situation prior to bird nesting. My next post will report on the final kiwi results and give an update on the pest monitoring.

Autumn gales

It seems that we are moving seamlessly from a wet summer into a wet and windy autumn! The bush is looking very lush and healthy with the rata in particular putting on huge growth. The unpredictable weather has reduced the amount of time spent in the forest but we have noticed plenty of kereru and silvereye are flocking with many young birds eliciting food. Towards the end of february the cicadas started up and have at times been deafening. Kingfisher and Morepork have enjoyed the bounty! Morepork have been evident during the day calling at all hours.
The unseasonal weather has meant that I have seen few butterflies although there have been several Whites, the occasional Monarch and Blue and one each of Red and Yellow Admirals. The highlight has been an Australian Painted Lady beside the Hooson drive. It would have been blown over from Aussi. It was a first for me on the estate.
The big blows often turn up interesting creatures around the house and recently we had a large common stick insect on the window frame. Earlier this week what was probably a Bush Giant Dragonfly briefly landed near the house. According to "Which New Zealand Insect" they can eat up to 20 house flies in an hour and even take cicadas. Apparently there are about 40 endemic species of cicada in New Zealand including the clapping, chirping, chorus, snoring and clock cicadas!
Judi and I joined Tim and Jude on a trip to Little Barrier at the end of february. It was fantastic to see the island and listen to the kokako, whitehead, robin, stitchbird and saddleback, none of which we now have at Mahakirau. Pre rats, mice and stoats they would have been here and maybe, one day, it will be possible to attempt reintroductions. Although our bird life is depleted it was very interesting to see how similar our forest is to the island's forest vegetation. It was a reminder of just how special and precious the Mahakirau forest is.
Sadly we didn't get to see the giant weta while on the island but we did get to feed young tuatara!

summer in the forest

At last we have enjoyed some real summer with hot still days and sun from dawn to dusk. Unfortunately over Christmas / New Year it was warm and wet - not good for the holiday makers but wonderful for the bush. There has been terrific growth so far this year with everything apparently enjoying the moisture and warmth.
Working through my diary, one highlight has been the morepork that are attracted to the lights at night. There have been as many as four birds feeding on Puriri moths. The night before last I sat out on the deck and had a bird sitting about 2 metres away. Another landed on the balustrade and waddled along looking around for moths. They are delightful birds grumbling away to each other and setting off on acrobatic aerial sorties after the incoming moths. The only downside of these predators is that they will also take small birds. Bruno and Barbara lost a nest of fledgling swallows to a morepork.
Kevin and Cynthia had a sad experience when a stoat killed the two nestling tui that that they had been watching and filming outside their bedroom window. Despite their efforts to protect the nest the stoat showed what an astonishingly efficient predator it is. However, the ongoing pest control must have benefits at this time of year as the bush is full of young birds. Bellbird, Silvereye, Fantail and Grey Warbler are feeding young around the house and there are small groups of four or five kereru down in the valley which I assume are family parties although flowering rata may be attracting groups of adult birds. The quail near the old paddock have a large family of minuscule young. I wonder how many will survive with the harriers quartering the area.
Many bush birds are less obvious during the breeding season and all but disappear from sight. But shining cuckoo, kingfisher and tomtit are still calling and singing occasionally. Several exotic birds are also singing well, including song thrush, dunnock and chaffinch.
The weather has not been conducive to butterflies but coppers and blues have appeared in the last few days with the fine weather.
As we feared, with the burst of growth in the forest, rat numbers are building fast. We have just finished monitoring and rats are widely spread across the estate. Possum numbers also appear to be building and we caught three near the house in one night recently. The battle continues...
Finally, an odd record was a black shag sitting on the road near the picnic area!