A huff of olive green streaks past me, bouncing back and forth between the mahoe. He is electric with energy as his plumage stands on end, the males surrounding all decorated with the same round and ruffled shape.
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It’s dark out. As it is with the beginning of most of my adventures. I ventured down the trail towards a group of nikau by the edge of the wetland where earlier in the day I had spied the enormous web. Most enormous webs, it seems, are also home to enormous spiders.
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Shags, in my opinion, are an essential part of experiencing coastal Aotearoa. Some people may know them as the relentless and hungry bird that nicks bait and fish from the end of your line, their snake-like neck appearing loch-ness-style to the rear of your boat the moment your line is cast. Tīkapa Moana is home to 5 species of shag, pied being the most easily recognised.
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There have been many rewards from the years of dedicated predator control on Waiheke. Some are raucous, seen soaring and screeching all over the island, but one, in particular, has quietly moved into people's backyards.
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I spend a lot of time outside; whether that’s in native bush, mangroves, or along our coastline. It may seem to some like a lonely job, to be by yourself in the outdoors, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s always someone waiting for me when I step out of my car or off a boat.
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A large kohekohe berry fell near my feet followed by a branch and then a strip of bark. High above, in the canopy, there was crashing and hopping and the shrieks of trill laughter. The beating of feathers echoed throughout the valley.
Aotearoa is full of strange looking creatures, from the very small to the very large. Some like to give you a fright by turning up in your gumboots, some will give you a nasty nip if you put your fingers too close. Though there is an insect that takes my breath away, every time I’m privileged enough to see one, and that is the wētāpunga.
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Pāteke, or brown teal, are the rarest species of mainland duck in Aotearoa. Their population is mainly on Aotea, Hauturu, Northland, and the Coromandel, though I had the pleasure of spotting some here on Waiheke recently.
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Huhu beetles are one of Aotearoa’s most eye-catching creatures. To hold one in your hand would take up most of your palm with an intricately patterned brown shell and long antennae. If you do for some reason end up holding one, likely it won’t be for long as they can deliver a nasty nip, followed by their angry screeches of “let me go!”.
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There is nothing as unmistakable as the low whooping of outstretched kererū wings, or the crunch of foliage under two crimson feet wrapped in billowing pantaloons. Courtship in the bird world is unlike any other, with dramatic dances, colourful shrines and impressive calls. Male manu pull out all the stops to catch the eye of a potential partner. The same goes for kererū.
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Seabird monitoring is incredibly important to learn about a species population numbers, as well as foraging habitat and breeding colonies. Ōi (grey-faced petrels) prefer offshore islands like the Noises and Hen and Chickens, or exposed headlands like Tāwharanui for nesting as they are often surrounded by strong updrafts for take-off.
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Aotearoa is home to a number of spectacular birds; a great number of them being a special group called the ‘waders’. These are birds with long, thin legs that inhabit our estuaries, wetlands, and marshes.
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