Tasman Every Day

Bellbirds/korimako (Anthornis melanura melanura) are honeyeaters and, for this reason, are important to New Zealand forests: they pollinate the flowers of many species of trees and shrubs. They feed on fruits as well, which means they’re also important in dispersing the seeds of different native plants. The song of the bellbird is full of pure ringing notes. Bellbirds blend in well in native forests and it may be that you hear them more than you see them. Tui often imitate bellbird song, so if you don’t see the bird that’s singing, you may not be sure what you’re hearing. If you hear grunts and wheezes thrown in, it’s most likely a tui, bellbirds stick to the pure bell-like notes.
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At the northwest end of Kaiteriteri Beach, Kaka Point rises above the town, looking out over Kaka Island and towards the hills on the eastern side of Tasman Bay. Archaeologists have found evidence suggesting that Kaka Point was used as a kainga, or undefended pā. Today, there’s a reserve on the site that includes this sign pointing out distances to places near and far. This photo was taken on a warm Saturday late in July, when the sky was clear and blue, giving a hint of spring before winter’s last desperate gasp.

It’s been wet, wild and wintery the last few days, and I like to remind myself that spring is around the corner with photos of baby animals from last year. So here we have a black swan (Cygnus atratus) with cygnet. The black swan has a rather confusing history in New Zealand. Black swans are widespread in Southeast Asia and Australia, and were introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s. In 1889, bones of a “New Zealand swan” were discovered in a cave in the Christchurch suburb of Sumner. The New Zealand swan and the black swan were regarded as separate as the New Zealand birds had slightly larger bones than the Australian ones. A study in 1998, however, concluded that the New Zealand swan was simply an isolated population of the Australian species that had been hunted to extinction before Europeans arrived. Then in 2017, a genetic analysis of fossils found that the New Zealand birds were, in fact, a separate species.

Summer’s coming! And that means soon there will be lots of babies, including quail babies, which are about the size of bumblebees when they hatch. California quail (Callipepla californica) were introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s and they’re now found in shrublands throughout most of the country. This family was shot (in the photographic sense only) in the Kaiterteri campground last summer. The male was very protective of his bubs and Mrs, and was perched on top of a post keeping guard while they foraged in the grass.

This is the little shag (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos). It’s quite a bit smaller than the pied shag, at 56-58 cm long, compared to the pied shag’s 65-85 cm. The little shag is found throughout New Zealand’s coastal areas and the population is thought to be between 5000 and 10,000 pairs. Little shags like to feed in shallow waters, so estuaries, swamps, lagoons and lakes are their thing. They’re fussy about how they swallow their food: they will bring caught fish to the surface and will even put them on the water’s surface to get the prey item’s orientation right (so the fish goes down head first). Red-billed gulls will sometimes take the opportunity to snatch the fish away.

This is yesterday’s robin mistaking the camera pack’s zipper for a worm. Uh, no, it’s firmly attached to the bag, not to mention indigestible. But she did have a good go.

Robins (Petroica australis australis) are curious things, and they can get pretty bold, even when the subject of their interest is considerably larger than themselves. This robin is checking out the camera pack with attached flask. Hey, you never know where a delicious worm might be hiding!

What I love about this photo is the detail in the feathers, especially around her chest patch. Males robins (Petroica australis australis) have a much more clearly demarked chest patch that goes right up to its neck, whereas the girls have more of a splotch. All robins, whether male or female, adopt quite a quizzical look when watching out for prey.

This South Island robin (Petroica australis australis) was nice company on a late winter walk up to the Riuwaka Resurgence. The robin’s genus name, Petroica, comes from the Greek for rock (petro) and home (oikos), because the birds like to sit on rocks. Hmm, this Petroica species is a forest dweller and doesn’t show a particular preference for rocks. Moving on… australis is Latin for southern, and when I see it in a species name, I tend to interpret it as “This is the first southern hemisphere species in this genus given a scientific name. They’re going to have to be more imaginative for the rest.”