Kereru flocks

Today has been another glorious autumnal day – still, mild and sunny. With the exception of a week or so of cold and wet weather the summer feels like it has gone on and on.

Friends who visited at the weekend marveled at the wealth of bird life on the estate. Fantails, grey warblers, silvereye, tomtit, bellbirds and tuis surrounded us. It is so easy to forget how silent some forests have become. Our friends are seasoned trampers so it was an interesting observation.

For the first time since we have been living up here we have seen flocks of Kereru on the estate. Yesterday a flock of about twenty birds flew down the picnic area valley landing in a rata above the waterfall. It looked as if some of the birds at least were then feeding in the canopy of a miro. Four days ago I saw a flock of a dozen or so kereru near the entrance to lot 2 so these may be the same birds. Through the telescope, I watched about a dozen birds, several feeding on lancewood berries. These birds may have come from within the estate or more likely from elsewhere, as our resident birds were still around. Also the flocking birds were more wary than our regulars, which are very trusting.

I have also noted a number of small groups of tui flying over the bush. One flock of ten birds was the largest group that I have seen since being up here. Tuis had been very quiet during much of April but in the past fortnight they have reappeared. Both tuis and bellbirds are now singing well.

At times the bush is seething with flocks of many tens of silvereyes and the sound of their high-pitched calls can be quite deafening in the early morning. Every so often a bird will burst into song. Several tomtits have been calling and in the last few days I have heard the occasional singing.

In the evening light I was scanning the bush with binoculars. Pairs of fantails were everywhere, presumably hunting for insects flying just above the canopy. The sun was catching their pale fan tails and undersides as they pirouetted above the trees. These dancing pairs were visible all down the valley.  They do appear to have had a good breeding season.

Of the exotic species on the estate, song thrushes are singing strongly.  They are shy birds here and rarely seen in the open. It is interesting how wary most of the introduced species are, in comparison with many of the natives. Pheasant, rosellas, greenfinch, blackbirds and thrushes all fly as soon as a person appears whereas the native species can be extremely confiding.  It is easy to see how devastating to birdlife the introduction of predators such as rats and stoats must have been.

Thankfully, with slightly cooler nights, wasp numbers have reduced to normal levels. There is still some cricket activity heard at night but the only insect of note was another Painted Lady butterfly - in the first week of April.

Judi has recorded a single plant of the small tree ‘Raukawa’, Pseudopanax edgerleyi, a new species for the estate.

wasps,wasps,wasps

We are still enjoying superb summer weather – today is warm and still. The mid March cyclone was not as bad as predicted. We were overseas at the time but very little damage was evident on our return and by all accounts we missed the worst of it as it tracked down the west coast. The present warm weather has resulted in very high wasp numbers through parts of the estate. Where grass has been cut or fresh soil exposed the ground is covered with wasps. They are also very busy around flowering lancewood and climbing rata.

We are currently enjoying a wonderful chorus of bellbirds. It is surprising how one week one species is very active and visible and the next a different species takes its place. Earlier this month the tuis were everywhere and bellbirds were few and far between. In the past few days tui have been flying high over the estate and a few have started singing again but in the early new year they were very active defending ‘their’ rata trees. Tomtits, which have been largely invisible recently, have also begun to sing again. 

One thing you learn when living in the bush is that the apparent absence of a species does not mean it is not present. The smaller birds in particular can be difficult to find when nesting and during the post-breeding period. Fruiting and flowering trees and hatching insects also result in birds moving to feed in different areas. Having not seen or heard a shining cuckoo for some time at the start of the year an adult then appeared at the house. Later, two juvenile birds were calling endlessly to their adopted grey warbler parents. 

The local press has recently published a letter suggesting the DoC 1080 drop has killed all the birds around here. Our experience on the estate (we are adjacent to the 1080 drop zone) is very different. All the regular bush birds are in good numbers and are probably as numerous as we have ever seen them. Harrier numbers may be down but again there are plenty of birds around. There has been no noticeable drop in morepork numbers, which are very high. 

A family of kingfisher had at least three young near the picnic area and they are surprisingly tame around the house. There are plenty of kereru and recently I have seen the occasional display dive. So far this year I have only seen one kaka flying over the estate.

We completed the analysis of the kiwi monitoring recordings and have to report that only one kiwi – a male – was confirmed on the estate. There is still a possibility that other birds are present, but it certainly confirms that numbers are extremely low. It is probably this one bird that has been heard at various locations within the central estate. Sadly the female ‘309’ kiwi I mentioned in my last blog post died of its injuries. Once again it reinforces the importance of keeping dogs out of the estate. 

There are never many butterflies in the forest but this summer I have recorded copper, blue and Helm’s butterflies and on 28^th March there was a painted lady near the house. I recorded this species here in mid march 2012. This could have been a windblown arrival from Australia or maybe from a population that has established locally. There is never a shortage of cabbage whites especially around the vegetable garden!

Metrosideros fulgens - Climbing Rata

We are enjoying a period of stella weather with warm, still, sunny days and the occasional afternoon thunderstorm to add a bit of drama. The last significant rain was at the start of December when we had 90mm in one night. The gales and cold of late September are a distant memory.

Early this morning I stood on the terrace for a few minutes and enjoyed the number of birds around. A flock of 30 or so silvereye was working through the bushes while fantails and grey warblers were very active. Bellbirds were busy and several young birds were calling from the denser areas of bush. Tui were very active flying between the tall rata. They are aggressively protecting their territories from all sorts of other bird species as well as their own kind. Every so often they make hair-raising chases through the vegetation after birds that have transgressed in some way. Competition with bellbird is understandable but it is difficult to understand why song thrush should be given a hard time! Many chases seem to involve silvereyes and in one, a silvereye attempted to escape by flying into the house, but the tui hurtled after it through the dining area and back out through the sliding doors! Bruno and Barbara have many tui visiting their flax and we have noted how tame the birds are around both houses. In November, when small shiny green beetles were coming out of the ground on the terrace, tuis were hoping around at our feet and noisily flying around our heads as they picked off beetles that took to the air. We have never seen so many tui on the estate. This is also true of the kereru. At times they seem to be in every rata and the valley below the house has been full of birds displaying.

Another species that may be more numerous than in previous years is shining cuckoo. Birds have been singing and calling across the estate since they first arrived up here on 27^th September. At times as many as half a dozen can be heard from the house and their numbers may reflect the high population of grey warbler.  Californian quail are frequent throughout the estate and there have been several family parties near the picnic area and a family with twelve tiny bundles of fluff this morning near lot 21. The lack of stoats should give them a better chance. The same is true with the pheasants. There are several cock pheasants crowing most days and a hen pheasant with a brood of five offspring are at the picnic area.

Tomtits are around, but are a lot less vocal than during September and November. During spring we had never seen and heard so many on the estate.  That’s not the case with kotare (kingfisher). There seem to be fewer than in previous years although they may become more evident now that the cicadas have started.

Morepork numbers must be very high. On a still night as many as a dozen birds can be heard from the house. We found the telltale evidence that one has been perching on the deck balustrade - decapitating huhu beetles and dismembering pururi moths! 

 

Huhu beetle

Finally on the bird front, a fox terrier caught a kiwi somewhere on the 309. We are awaiting further information. The bird was badly injured but has so far survived the attack. It was taken to Auckland Zoo for treatment. It is a salutary reminder that dogs and kiwis do not mix.

The most exciting insect news in the past few months has been several helm’s butterflies. We had one around the house for a few days at the end of November and I have seen others further north on the estate. These are rare endemics.  I discussed their significance in an earlier blog posting.

Several trees and shrubs have been flowering well including Hinau, Quintinia, manuka, rewa rewa and tawari. Pigeonwood berries are prolific and many are lying on the forest floor. This suggests that rodent numbers are low following pest control efforts 

this spring.

Low rat, mice and possum numbers should allow impressive bush growth particularly if the warm weather continues.

 

Tawari  Ixerba brexioides

  

Clematis paniculata

Aleuosmia macrophylla

Spring growth on Fivefinger

The forest is beginning to look beautifully fresh as most plants are now putting on new growth.  When the weather is warm and the rain keeps coming growth is phenomenal.
Olearia rani, common throughout much of the estate, had no flowering this year. Last year the bush was white with their flowers but I have only seen one flower cluster this year! The white flowers of manuka and clematis are beginning to appear and Judi noticed the first hooded orchids out on the waterfall path but it looks like it is a later and less spectacular spring than last year. Alseuosmia macrophylla (sorry no common name) which we think is relatively uncommon shrub on the estate, is flowering at the moment. It has spectacular dark crimson tubular flowers, like a large fuschia, with feathered petals. Several of the commoner but less spectacular shrubs such as coprosma are also flowering and clouds of pollen come off the plants when you brush against them.
The highlight of the past few weeks for me was a male kiwi calling just below the house. In the hour I was listening (3-4am) he called three times - each time a series of more than twenty whistles. The first time he called I thought I was dreaming that I was still listening to the calls on the computer! I had hoped to have completed the analysis by now but I have only worked through six of the ten sets of recordings so far. It is a very slow and tedious process. I have picked up male kiwi calling at two of the sites, but no females - which is a disappointing result so far. It has been good to hear several kaka in different parts of the estate. These no doubt are visitors from the Manaia population. On a positive note the recordings do confirm that we have a very healthy population of morepork and weta. Every site has recorded morepork calling most evenings and often multiple birds can be heard. Weta can be heard rasping away at every site. Only another 500 hours of recordings to work through!!
I see that people elsewhere in the North Island have started recording the first arrivals of shining cuckoo so we are keeping our ears open. Last year the Mahakirau birds arrived well after birds elsewhere in the country. I wonder if they fly into Northland and then make their way directly south bypassing the Coromandel or if early arrivals stay near the coast with later birds heading up into the ranges.
The rather miserable windy and cool weather we have had recently seems to have reduced the birdsong and other spring activity. However, whenever it is still and sunny all the bush birds appear. Yesterday the first kingfisher for a while was calling monotonously below the house. Tomtit remain very active with several singing birds around the house. At Chris and Marilyn's we watched a pair together - possibly prospecting for nest sites. At one point the male lay motionless on the open ground, like a reclining cat! We were just beginning to wonder if he was hurt when the female flew down to join him and they made off together.
Kereru and tui are both into their spectacular display flights. The kereru seem to delight in their swoop and stall flights while the tuis hurtle towards the ground from a great height and it is difficult to imagine that they don't get some sort of avian adrenaline rush!

winter winds

Earlier in the winter Jude and I had a special time in Sri Lanka and Thailand. We visited several areas of forest and it is always fascinating to make comparisons with Mahakirau. The Kaeng Krachan National Park on the Thai/Myanmar border was spectacular. Numerous mammal species including gibbons and other primates and in a five day trip we recorded nearly 200 species of bird including many beautiful and spectacular forest dwellers such as hornbills. It is easy to be despondent about our lack of diversity in NZ but at least we don't have mosquitos, leeches and fiery red ants! Also we don't have to endure 35 degrees with near 100% humidity!
Returning to winter from those temperatures takes a bit of adjustment but we have been lucky with the weather. We have enjoyed some glorious spring like days although we now have rain and wind as a subtropical storm has arrived from the north. However, it is still quite warm with temperatures in the mid teens. Looking down the valley it is raining hard at the coast but we just have a very light drizzle here at the moment, having had 43mm of rain yesterday.
The birds vanish when the wind is so strong but until yesterday they had been behaving as if spring had arrived with tui courting hard and tomtit, bellbird, grey warbler and fantail all singing strongly.  In the fine weather before the storm harriers were displaying above the forest and the first swallow that I have seen for a while was singing while flying high above  the house. There are still plenty of fantail around. In the gale they were keeping very low, out of the wind, flying just above the ground catching insects blown out of the bushes.
Whilst the bush is generally looking healthy, several more olearia plants have died and others look very sick. It would be good to know if this is associated with the phenomenal flowering last year. Kereru have demolished the Kowhai leaves on the trees planted by our drive. Perhaps they are eco-purists and recognize that kowhai are not native to the bush here (having been brought up from Taupo to feed the tui)!  In any event it will be interesting to see if the trees can recover from the attack.
With the onset of weather less conducive to being outside, Jude and I have begun the long process of listening to the 1,200 hours of bio-acoustic (kiwi) recordings made in June throughout the estate. We have only been through two of the ten sites so far but they have certainly supported the view that we have a very good Morepork population. We have also picked up Kaka and Spur winged plover calling. So far no kiwi. I will report on the final analysis in my next posting.

Early winter

The long dry spell is definitely over although it is still warm when the sun is out. The forest now looks very lush and surprisingly the climbing rata is still flowering. Recently, we have woken to beautiful sunrises looking down onto low cloud in the valley and out to the coast. Last week we had two of the best days of the year – absolutely still, warm and cloudless. Today there is torrential rain – never a dull moment!

Natural history highlights in the past two months include the discovery of five Hochstetter’s Frogs in a 50 metre stretch of one stream. If you lift stones to look for frogs you need to be very careful not to squash them. You also need good eyes as young ones are very very small (less than 1cm) and cryptically coloured.  It would be good to have a better understanding of the distribution of both frog species as there is very conflicting information as to where they may occur within the estate. For example do Archeys Frogs only occur in higher parts of the estate or are they found across all elevations? If you find frogs please record location and date. If you can take photos, please do, as identifying the species is not easy.

On the bird front Kaka have been reported within the estate, presumably feeding on the Coprosma or other fruits. Kiwis have been heard by at least six owners at a number of locations through the central part of the estate. At present it is not clear how many birds may be involved. Probably, there are at least two male birds moving around within their territories. When densities are very low, territories may cover large areas.  Now is a very good time of the year to listen for them. Red Admiral Ecology has been contracted to carry out a call survey using bio-acoustic recorders placed through the estate. These continuously record for at least eight nights. The memory cards are then analysed using a specialized software package. This is time consuming and to keep costs down we will look at being trained to do this ourselves.

There are not a lot of changes on the bird front since my last post. Plenty of bellbirds calling and occasionally bursting into song but tuis are very quiet. They are still on the estate but few are singing. Kereru are also keeping a low profile. That is not the case with tomtits and fantails. They are singing strongly throughout the estate. We have several birds around the house, which has not been the case in previous years, so that is a very good sign. Silvereyes are everywhere and numerous flocks come to feed on the five-fingers and other shrubs.

Re-seeding of the cleared paddock area on lot 9 brought in large numbers of chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch and yellowhammer. They were around for a couple of weeks until they ran out of grass seed. This week there were just two yellowhammers left.

There are several small groups of rosella and the occasional kingfisher around to add colour to the bush and small coveys of californian quail often fly up from the road near the picnic area when we drive through.

We are looking forward to winter on the estate and hope to be able to report positive news about kiwi numbers. If you hear or see any please record date, time and location.

Rain at last

This Hochstetter's frog was half the size of a little fingernail

It took John coming up to Mahakirau to camp out at lot 9 to really break the drought (more than 150mm in 24 hours)! This followed 14 weeks during which we had little more than 100mm. Some shrubs have suffered quite badly in the prolonged dry spell and we have lost several Olearia plants after their phenomenal flowering earlier this summer.
At the moment there are numerous climbing rata still flowering which are proving very attractive to Bellbird. It has been a fantastic period for bellbird song. At times they have been deafening around the house and are still putting on a show now. Tui are not so apparent as earlier in the year when they seemed to be everywhere but they are first-up in the dawn chorus and numbers suggest that they have also had a good breeding season. Kereru are less apparent than earlier in the summer when they were very visible. Often four or five would be in the trees behind the house. It is difficult to gauge whether they have left the estate or are just keeping a low profile.
All of the commoner bush birds have been very active over the warm, still period. Silvereye are currently in large flocks of more than twenty birds and at times the forest has been teeming with them. Fantail and Grey Warbler have also been very evident whereas recently I have only seen or heard the occasional Tomtit and Kingfisher - but they are around. Individual Kaka have flown over the estate and I have heard them at night - presumably returning to the Manaia. We saw a flock of more than six birds in the sanctuary during March. Morepork numbers seem to be high and on one still, warm night I believe that I could hear from the house more than a dozen different birds.
A highlight of the past two months has been male kiwi calling below Bruno and Barbara's and near the estate road at Sebastian and Karen's. Hopefully, we will record female kiwi this winter.

Tim and Jude found this Forest Gecko (Hoplodactylus granulatus) at their house - as far as I know the first record on the estate for many years. They grow up to 17cms and live in holes in tree trunks and under bark. Their cryptic colouring makes them very difficult to see in the bush. Rats love them so it would be fantastic to think that the pest control programme could help this species to flourish on the estate.
On the butterfly front I have recorded a few Monarch and Blues and a single Red Admiral. The commonest butterfly on the estate is the White. There have been two different species of dragonfly around the house.
Finally, the local newspaper reported the discovery of a flowering wood rose (Dactylanthus taylorii) somewhere on the peninsula. It is New Zealand's only totally parasitic flowering plant and lives on the roots of hardwoods such as mahoe, lancewood and fivefinger - all of which are common on the estate. It flowers between January and May and is pollinated by the short-tailed bat. This was only the second record in one hundred years. Nonetheless we will keep looking. You never know...