We heard the mōhua before we saw them. Like our experiences with their cousins, they were most often spotted high above us in the trees peering down and chattering to one another.
Tag: Ornithology
Kākāpō: New Zealand’s Flightless “Owl” Parrot
A blog post by Emma For two weeks over the New Zealand 2018/2019 summer, Tom and I volunteered with kākāpō on Whenua Hou Island. You can read about the trip and some of the other species we encountered in our blog post, here. Whilst we were on the island, we were extremely lucky to have…
Volunteering with Kākāpō on Whenua Hou Island
A blog post by Emma Parenthood, work and life have been keeping us very busy. So much so that it has taken a pandemic and a countrywide lockdown to get Tom and I back in front of the computer again! We hope that everyone is keeping safe. We are well, but it looks like we’ll…
Mātātā: The New Zealand Fernbird
A Secretive Onlooker While tramping in the Kaweka & Kaimanawa Forest Parks, New Zealand, (see our previous blog post on that adventure here) we came across a curious sound emanating from some scrub within the wetland we were walking through. In between calls, the foliage would shake gently as it made its way to a new vantage…
The Ducks Who Surf Rapids: New Zealand’s Endangered Whio
A Caravanning Trip in the Rain Despite the weather forecast promising us a very rainy weekend, nothing was going to deter us from heading out. Mum and Dad’s caravan was stocked with the essentials, mine and Tom’s cameras were packed, we all had our raincoats and gumboots, so off we set up the windy Parapara…
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,…
The Green Woodpecker: Professor Yaffle Comes to Say, “Hello!”
After hearing some interesting bird calls from over the wall, Tom took his long lens and I grabbed my binos and we went on the hunt.
Blue Tits and Their Chicks
When it comes to wildlife photography and knowing about your local species, it really pays to spend a lot of time outdoors. Whilst Emma was off working away and single-handily saving European protected species, I, left to my own devices, decided to go for a afternoon stroll. I was sat on a hill watching the world with…
The Baya Weaver (One Way to Please Her: Become a Master Weaver)
After an adventurous Malaysian jungle experience, we were back in the 4×4 heading out of the forest and soon bouncing our way down the dusty tracks surrounded by oil palm plantations. I had one more ask of our extremely patient guide and friend, Mr Lam. Several days earlier on the way into Endau Rompin National Park, we…
The Rhinoceros Hornbill : Malaysia’s National Bird
…Their most striking feature, their casque (the head ornament that looks like a second bill, or rhinoceros horn) is thought to have a similar function to that of hadrosaur’s head crest.
Exploring the Malaysian Jungle: Endau-Rompin National Park
Tom and I spend the southern hemisphere’s summer in New Zealand, my home country, and the northern hemisphere’s summer in England, Tom’s home country. We follow the summer because it is also the ecology season when we get most work. The flight can be pretty long when you have to travel half-way around the globe, so…
Takahē: The World’s Largest Living Rail
The takahē’s story is quite amazing. Between 1849 and 1898, only four individuals were ever sighted… By the early 1900’s takahē were considered to be extinct.
ZOOMOLOGY BLOG 