Penguin Stocktake

On Monday I went out with some volunteers from NZ Forest and Bird to do a penguin stocktake of  part of the south coast between Moa Point and Tarakena Bay. We were looking for the penguin boxes that were already there (and whether they were being used), sites for new boxes and possible natural nest sites. We were also looking at options for planting new to create safe habitats and shelter for the little blue penguins.

Hunting for nesting boxes.

Sadly all I saw were two skinks, who were much too fast for me to get a photo of, and no penguins.

The storms from June had damaged the coastline and trees here. Can you see how the storm piled up stones and debris on the shore and killed off the trees?







If you look closely at this picture you can see new leaves on this 'dead' bush. They will recover in time and I'm sure the birds will return to this area.

Bird Banding

Yesterday I went out bird Banding with Peter Reese. He has been doing this for 30 years so he really knows what he is doing.
The first thing he does is put some nets up in an area of bush near a food or water source. Here there is a small stream and the native trees were flowering. Can you see the net?
You can now the sun is shining on it and so can the birds, but when it is in the shade it is very hard to see. They fly into the nets and drop into 'pockets' on either side of the net.

Here we have caught a Silvereye. You hold the birds gently but firmly between your fingers taking care not to hold it tightly around the chest. Then we put a band around the bird's right leg.

Then we measured its wing length.

Then we put it into a container to weigh it - it's not very dignified for the bird
 but they stay still and the are not hurt at all.

Here is a picture of me banding my first Silvereye. I also banded some other Silvereyes, Sparrows and a Chaffinch.

All the information we collect is passed on to the Department of Conservation.

White Cheeked Gibbons

This is Robyn and Vilson, the two white cheeked gibbons at Wellington Zoo. Robyn is the lighter coloured female, she makes the whooping noise. Vilson is the darker male, he does most of the 'singing'. Whenever Vilson stops for a rest Robyn starts whooping again - it is like they are singing a duet.
It is one of the special things about working at Wellington Zoo that you get to hear them calling every morning. You can hear them calling several kilometres away on a still morning.
Turn up the volume and have a listen.

For more information about Robyn and Vilson watch this Conservation Connection video from Wellington Zoo.

Conservation Connection - Gibbons

Feeding Lanky

Well after writing about Lanky on Wednesday I went out on section with Phil the bird keeper. I was lucky enough to feed Lanky.
First we had to cut up his fish. We filleted (cut the meat off) five medium sized fish and then cut that into small chunks - roughly about 5cm squares. That is his two meals for the day.
I had to throw the fish into Lanky's beak. He lunges forward as he catches it - and that is a pretty big beak to lunge at you. It made me jump a bit the first time.
He has a real routine - he has about the first third of his meal standing by the fence and for the rest he is swimming in the water.

Sometimes Lanky decides he doesn't like a piece of fish and drops it on the ground. Then you have to break the fish up even smaller with you hands. Other times he pretends he wants the fish then ducks his head out of the way - naughty Lanky!

Lanky

This is Lanky. He is one of the oldest animals at Wellington Zoo, he is about 36 years old.

He is an Australian Pelican. Lanky is a bit fussy and will only eat his fish if it's cut up. If you are lucky visiting the zoo then you might see him being fed by the keepers - throwing bits of fish into his great big beak. A pelican that lived at Wellington Zoo before Lanky has the world record as the oldest known pelican. His name was Percy and he  lived to be 62 years old.

My questions today are about Lanky's beak. It's a pretty big beak and with that throat pouch underneath  it can hold an awful lot. 

Why would he need a beak like that? What could he carry in it? Does he carry things or is it for something else?

Look at the close up of the end of Lanky's beak. Can you see the big hook shape on the end? I wonder what that could be for?

(remember these are not a run to the internet to find the answer questions - I want you to think hard and tell your answers to someone else, have a discussion)

Checking The Traps

As part of looking after the Little Blue Penguins on the South coast the zoo looks after some pest traps. On Thursday I went out with Lynn to check some of the traps. If you remember the weather on Thursday it wasn't pleasant - really strong winds and icy rain.

Checking a trap.

Lynn walking in to the wind.

Little Blue Penguins nest in burrows on the shore in among the bushes. What sort of animals would be their predators? Think about what will eat the birds, what will eat their eggs or their chicks.

What animals do you think we are catching with these traps?

Sam's New Blanket

Today some students from Epuni School came to the Wellington Zoo to start their Bushbuilders programme. They had been knitting at school and they had made a blanket to give to the chimpanzees.

Here are some of the students handing over the blanket to the keepers.

Here's what happened when Sam got the blanket - I love the way he lays it on the ground carefully before sitting on it!

Sam using his new blanket to keep warm!

Well done to the students from Epuni School.

Dunedin

I spent the last week in Dunedin on a course with the other teachers on the Teacher Fellowship. It was a very busy week and it gave me a lot to think about.

 

The Otago University grounds looked spectacular. We had lots of good food (maybe too much) and lots of interesting conversations.
On Wednesday we got taken out for a tour of Dunedin in some old Jaguar cars. We even climbed to the top of Baldwin Street and rolled some Jaffas down (and I thought about Rm 7's Jaffa Roll - Jaa-faaaa Rooooolllll). It doesn't look that steep in my photo but it was hard work going up and even harder going down.

Our rides for the evening 

At the top of Baldwin Street with the other Fellows.