A New Zealand Tūī Feeding on Flax Nectar

Click to zoom in New Zealand’s Endemic Tūī Tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) are an endemic New Zealand bird found across almost all of New Zealand. They range from the subtropical Kermadec Islands to the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. Tūī are noticeably absent from the Canterbury region although they were found there historically. With native planting, predator control,…

Nice to Bee back in New Zealand: Hive Audits

Beeing Employed Click to zoom in Within a week of being back in the country, we had somehow landed a short-term contract working with honey bees. Emma and I had put on bee suits before and photographed a friends bees but that was the extent of our experience. For this work, we essentially drove around…

Nighttime in the Jungle: Bioluminescent Mushrooms

Nighttime in the Jungle Assisting a researcher based at Danau Girang Field Centre along the lower Kinabatangan River (Sabah, Borneo), we set out on a nighttime frog survey.  We came across many amazing frog species, a few of which you can check out in our blog post here. Whilst walking along the track, we noticed…

Another Ant… or is it? Mimicry in the Bornean Jungle

Trekking Through the Jungle As you are tramping through the jungle, you see all sorts of amazing creatures. Every now and then, though, you see something that really takes you by surprise. This little ‘insect’ was definitely the surprise on this occasion. Click to zoom in The Ant on the Leaf As I was brushing…

Amongst the World’s Smallest Squirrels: The Bornean Least Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis)

A Squirrel No Larger Than a Mouse Zipping about high in the trees of the lower Kinabatangan rainforest lives a tiny squirrel. No larger than a mouse, it is less than 8cm in body length and weighs less than 20g. Click to zoom in Up the Canopy Platform A platform has been attached to a…