Author: Shaun

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My Brothers awesome diet

"Hayden has gone from eating meat from the supermarket to now only consuming "pest" meats of New Zealand. Pest meats are not roadkill, but instead wild, introduced animals which are damaging our native environment; things like deer, rabbits, pigs and goats."
“Hayden has gone from eating meat from the supermarket to now only consuming “pest” meats of New Zealand. Pest meats are not roadkill, but instead wild, introduced animals which are damaging our native environment; things like deer, rabbits, pigs and goats.”

Full article on the NZ Herald

Pest meat! Unfortunately there does not seem to be a market for the rats and Possums I catch… fertiliser?

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Pukeko Eating Dotterel Eggs

I thought I might be photographing a Northern New Zealand Dotterel defending its chick at Point England.
I thought I might be photographing a Northern New Zealand Dotterel defending its chick at Point England.
I kept shooting but could not work out where the chick was.
I kept shooting but could not work out where the chick was.
When the Pukeko pecked the ground I was worried it had caught the chick. I advanced slowly (still shooting) because I thought there could be chicks about.
When the Pukeko pecked the ground I was worried it had caught the chick. I advanced slowly (still shooting) because I thought there could be chicks about.
This is a very cropped image from a 400mm lens so I was still a long way off.
This is a very cropped image from a 400mm lens so I was still a long way off.
When I saw this flash of yellow I knew it was not eating grass. I then ran in and scared off the Pukeko.
When I saw this flash of yellow I knew it was not eating grass. I then ran in and scared off the Pukeko.
The other half of the egg was nearby.
The other half of the egg was nearby.

Of course my presence could well have distracted the NNZD but I don’t think she could defend her nest. The whole time I was observing her she was never more than a few meters from her nest. A passing cow would have been a much bigger and very common distraction for her. The Pukeko was moving with two others who stayed nearby but did not seem interested, there were no observable Pukeko chicks (or paternal behaviour from the Pukeko). The Pukeko definitely seemed to be consuming the egg for food not destroying it for territorial reasons.

Egg predation by Pukeko might explain other nest losses I have had this season.

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Things Aucklanders can do to help the Hauraki Gulf

Inspired by some recent conversations, I put together this list (in no particular order).

Things Aucklanders can do to help the Hauraki Gulf

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Invertebrates

Nudibranch

If I really care about biodiversity and 95% of described species are invertebrates then I am spending too much time with birds. Tho based on a talk I heard at the Zoological Society we don’t know how to look after them yet. The things we do to protect birds also help the insects (removing rodents and wasps).

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The enemy of my enemy…

Spur Winged Plover chasing off Dotterel avian predator #1 Swamp harrier.
Spur Winged Plover chasing off Dotterel avian predator #1 Swamp harrier.
But the nesting Magpie is more persistent, even the SWP back off when he rockets up.
But the nesting Magpie is more persistent, even the SWP back off when he rockets up.