Endemic Birds of New Zealand

They call it the land of the birds, and why not, with over 170 species of birds, of which over 80% are endemic (only found there) to New Zealand, you can understand why. Plus, there are only two native mammal species on the islands, also of the flying variety ( the New Zealand Long-tailed Bat, and the New Zealand Lesser Short-tailed Bat).

Since New Zealand has been separated as its own land mass for over 65 million years, the bird species became extremely specialized in the habitats they occupied and in their way of foraging, leading to great speciation. This pattern of course changed with human settlement as the introduced rats and cats brought many bird species to extinction, plummeting the special total. Nowadays, conservation for the birds is quite strong, a somewhat easier task due to the fact that New Zealand is not an overpopulated country with plenty of habitat, or at the very least space for habitat restoration. This doesn’t mean of course that all is merry as some species are only holding on by a thread, but at least the country as a whole is moving in the right direction.

Kailani and I visited New Zealand for her PhD studies this summer (New Zealand’s winter). Though we were mostly in Wellington, we had the opportunity to make a few weekend excursions to look for some wildlife, by default being mostly endemic birds.

Land Birds

One of the closest, bird life filled places to Wellington is Kapiti Island. It is a small island separated from the main land by a fifteen minute boat ride, but most importantly, it is possum and rat free. That means the birds have no predators on the island and can go about their business as if humans had never come (aka, yipee for the birds!).

A few trails run through the forested section of the island, so we hiked around in there for a bit. Before long we got to see numerous New Zealand Robins. Specifically the North Island Robin, the subspecies endemic to the North Island of New Zealand.

New Zealand Robin (Petroica australis longipes) female, Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand Robin (Petroica australis longipes) female, Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

From there we wandered into the habitat taking up most of the island, shrubland. Quite easy to find there are the New Zealand Pigeons. The subspecies is the nominate type, found on all of the mainland of New Zealand.

New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae), Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae), Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

After that we had lunch at one of the few buildings on the island, which are surrounded by all so natural lawns, which also happen to be a favorite grazing area for the endemic Weka, a rail species. The subspecies here is the North Island Weka (Gallirallus australis greyi).

Weka (Gallirallus australis greyi), Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

Weka (Gallirallus australis greyi), Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

And soon after that we were treated to a sighting for which we made the whole trip. The Takahe is a bird thought extinct for fifty years, until it was rediscovered in 1948 by Geoffrey Orbell (how cool would it feel to be the person rediscovering a species thought extinct!).  There are still only less than 300 individuals left of this bird but their population numbers are rising. To increase their chances of survival, birds have been moved to predator free islands (like Kapiti) to let them breed there, after which offspring get moved to different locations for subsequent breeding efforts. On Kapiti, there were three individuals, a breeding pair and their offspring, and we got to see all three of them! A perfect way to finish off the weekend!

Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) grazing, Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) grazing, Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

Seabirds

Then came the seabirds. I am not sure why I have a secret fascination with them, maybe its because they fly huge distances, often breed on offshore islands where no people live, are some of the most graceful fliers (or gliders), and can be hard to find (well, I guess I do know why I love them!). To try our luck with endemic New Zealand seabirds, Kailani and I did two pelagic trips out of Kaikoura, and boy were we not disappointed. Below are all the endemics we saw (all albatrosses) though we also had the pleasure of seeing Cape Petrels for our first time, as well as Northern and Southern Giant Petrels!

Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Gibson's Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni) gliding over ocean, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Gibson’s Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni) gliding over ocean, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Southern Royal Albatross (Diomedea epomophora) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Southern Royal Albatross (Diomedea epomophora) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

White-capped Albatross (Thalassarche steadi) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

White-capped Albatross (Thalassarche steadi) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) flying over ocean, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Buller’s Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) flying over ocean, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Maybe the most amazing part of it all is that there are a ton more endemic birds we didn’t see. Sounds to me like we need to go back :). Have any of you been to New Zealand? Any birding spots you can recommend to the rest of us?

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

Reviewing the 2013 Photographic Year

I always like to take a bit of time and review what happened the last year in terms of reaching some of my goals. For that I go and check my trusty Bucket List and see what things I was able to experience (or check off, for you twitchers). Turns out 2013 was a good photographic year.

I am including only the highlights from this year in this post (for the full list just click the link above). I am also only showing one or two images of each species/location, if you want to see all the pictures from that subject just click that name and the link will take you to the appropriate gallery.

Visit and or Explore
Tropical Rainforests (Borneo Spring 2013, Gabon 2013, Borneo Winter 2013)

Lowland rainforest shrouded in clouds at sunrise, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Lowland rainforest shrouded in clouds at sunrise, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Sunset over tropical rainforest, Lope National Park, Gabon

Sunset over tropical rainforest, Lope National Park, Gabon

New Zealand (August 2013)

Snow-covered mountains, South Island, New Zealand

Snow-covered mountains, South Island, New Zealand

Photograph
Bay Cat (December 2013) – More on that later 🙂
Sunda Clouded Leopard (March 2013)

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Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) male in lowland rainforest at night, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (camera trap)

Marbled Cat (March 2013)

Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata) in lowland rainforest, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata) in lowland rainforest, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (camera trap)

African Leopard (October 2013)

African Leopard (Panthera pardus) male crossing log bridge over river in tropical rainforest, Lope National Park, Gabon

African Leopard (Panthera pardus) male crossing log bridge over river in tropical rainforest, Lope National Park, Gabon (camera trap)

3 species of Civet (Added Malay Civet and Common Palm Civet 2013)

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Malayan Civet (Viverra tangalunga) in lowland rainforest at night, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (camera trap)

Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) in tree at night, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) in tree at night, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

1000 bird species in the wild (I am at 190, having added 61 species this year), just a few here:

Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Buller’s Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Red-billed Gull (Larus scopulinus) during rain storm, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Red-billed Gull (Larus scopulinus) during rain storm, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

New Zealand Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) parrot during rain storm, North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) parrot during rain storm, North Island, New Zealand

Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli) pair fighting, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli) pair fighting, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

300 mammal species in the wild (I am at 106, having added 45 species this year), just a few here:

Forest Buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) bull running, Lope National Park, Gabon

Forest Buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) bull running, Lope National Park, Gabon

White-nosed Guenon (Cercopithecus nictitans) in tree, Lope National Park, Gabon

White-nosed Guenon (Cercopithecus nictitans) in tree, Lope National Park, Gabon

African Brush-tailed Porcupine (Atherurus africanus) on log at night, Lope National Park, Gabon

African Brush-tailed Porcupine (Atherurus africanus) on log at night, Lope National Park, Gabon (camera trap)

Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) male, Lope National Park, Gabon

Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) male, Lope National Park, Gabon

Red Leaf Monkey (Presbytis rubicunda) in tree, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borne

Red Leaf Monkey (Presbytis rubicunda) in tree, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borne

20 critically endangered and 50 endangered species (I am at 6 and 17 respectively)

Borneo Pygmy Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) females and calf grazing, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Borneo Pygmy Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) females and calf grazing, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) grazing, Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) grazing, Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

I am looking forward to see what this year brings!

How about you, anything particular that you photographed in 2013 that you are really happy/proud of?

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

Free Forest Elephant Wallpaper

Here is October’s free desktop wallpaper! It’s another wildlife image from the jungles of Gabon. This is a dslr camera trap image of an African Forest Elephant. The debate whether this is a separate subspecies or even its own species still continues to this day, but these elephants are definitely smaller than their savanna cousins. Thankfully poaching is not a big threat in Lope National Park and elephant densities may be the highest in this part of the country. They have had hunting pressure in the past though and since these elephants live a long time, many older individuals still have bullets in their skin and have understandably developed a severe disliking of humans. Now, when you walk through the rainforest your biggest fear is running into one of these guys. They will charge you instead of running away, and most of the time they are not bluff charges. It’s scary as hell. I am very glad I wasn’t anywhere near the camera when this guy walked past, taking his self portrait while stepping into a puddle of water.

As always, just click on the image for the wallpaper sized image or use this link African Forest Elephant Stepping into Puddle.

African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) stepping into puddle at night, Lope National Park, Gabon

African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) stepping into puddle at night, Lope National Park, Gabon

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

Endangered Neighbor: Brown Pelican

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Brown Pelican in breeding plumage, San Diego, California

This Endangered Neighbor was taken off the US endangered species list in 2009 due to their population rising to what authorities consider to be large enough numbers. As we all know, this doesn’t mean they are in the clear, but so long as we make sure we don’t repeat history, Brown Pelicans should have a stable future. To do this, we need to look at that history to see how we got Brown Pelicans in trouble in the first place.

Chemical Pollution

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Brown Pelican ‘reading’ contaminated water sign, Santa Cruz, California

DDT was one of many contaminates released into the environment after world war II. The problem with DDT was (and still is) that it causes thin egg shells. Brown Pelicans incubate their eggs by standing on them. Because of the thin egg shells caused by the pesticide, pelicans were literally crushing their own eggs. In 1969 only 12 of 300 nests contained whole eggs on West Anacapa Island (the only breeding colony in California), the rest were crushed. In fact, the nearshore waters of southern California have experienced the highest levels of environmental contamination by DDT anywhere in the world. This was not only caused by local agriculture, but by the Montrose Chemical Company which was discharging hundreds of pounds of DDT directly into the southern California oceans.

In 1972 the use of pesticides like DDT was banned in the US (though we are still the number one producer of DDT, now shipping it abroad), which was probably the biggest historical factor in bringing Brown Pelicans back.

As you can see from the image above, chemical pollution is still a problem, not from DDT, but from agricultural and industrial run-off.

Plastic Pollution

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Brown Pelican carrying Plastic Spoon, Santa Cruz, California

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Brown Pelican about to catch plastic spoon in mouth, Santa Cruz, California

Plastic pollution is a constantly increasing modern threat since pelicans often consume them, thinking it is food. Save our Shores reports that they pick up 60 lbs of trash per beach clean up. That is nuts!!! Not only that, but they average around 385 lbs of garbage per river clean up, so you can imagine how much trash gets swept into the ocean that we simply don’t even know about.

The Solution

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The nice part about this step, is that in reality, it is relatively easy. There are a few different easy steps you can take to help Brown Pelicans survive.

– Eat organic foods (therefore eliminating agricultural run-off)
– Buy re-usable bottles and bags, eliminating plastic bags and bottles.
– Throw your trash away in proper containers, but re-use as much as possible.
-Volunteer with Save our Shores (check out their calendar for their frequent clean up days)

…. see, all those steps are super easy!

If we all take these small steps we can ensure to be graced by the beauty of Brown Pelicans for years to come! To see more Brown Pelican images, besides the images below, visit the Brown Pelican Portfolio!

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Adult and juvenile Brown Pelican in flight, Santa Cruz, California

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Brown Pelican peeking around rock, Santa Cruz, California

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Brown Pelican in Flight, San Diego, California

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

 

Endangered Neighbor: California Condor

California Condor Juvenile Male in Pinnacles National Monument

Juvenile California Condor male, Pinnacles National Monument, California

Our most Endangered Neighbor is the California Condor with less than 200 individuals in the wild (There are about 181 in captivity). Like the Sea Otter, the low California Condor numbers are due mainly to historical reasons. Many were shot since they were seen as threats to livestock (sadly not true as they are strict carrion eaters) and for museum specimens. Then, as for so many other bird species, came the problem of pesticides, specifically DDT. It caused their egg shells to be too thin, causing them to break.

Soaring Adult California Condor in Big Sur

Soaring juvenile California Condor, Big Sur, California

Though Condor numbers are on the rise the still face modern day threats:

    • Poaching is still an issue (how is this possible?!?!)
    • Habitat destruction

Dying of lead poisoning due to eating hunter killed carrion that contains lead bullets

Junile California Condor male flying in Pinnacles

California Condor juvenile male flying, Pinnacles National Monument, California

Though these guys are not as cuddly and cute looking as our beloved otters, there are still people who are devoting their life to saving this amazing species. Mainly, the people from the Ventana Wildlife Society‘s Condor Project are responsible for their increase in numbers by managing and conducting a few different projects.

    • They collect thin-shelled, wild-laid eggs and replace them with viable captive-bred eggs
    • They treat lead-poisoned birds

They monitor the safety and health of each condor through radio telemetry

Replacing batteries on radio transmitter on California Condor

Replacing batteries on radio transmitter on California Condor

Monitoring California Condor at Release Site

Monitoring California Condor at Release Site, Big Sur, California

California Condor release in Big Sur

California Condor release, Big Sur, California

Cleaing out Rats in California Condor holding site

They (here Lyla Hunt) also get to clean out the dead rats used as food for the California Condors in their holding pen, Big Sur, California – yummy!

Radio Tracking California Condor in Big Sur

Radio tracking California Condor, Big Sur, California

In fact, the wild flock in central California, aka along the Big Sur coast is a direct result of their dynamic efforts.

Now as always, there are plenty of little steps we can all take to help condors out. Trust me, if for no other reason than this one, you want these guys to survive to see one of them soar near you. Their impressive nine foot wing span is awe inspiring!

So here are the steps you and me should be taking!

  • Adopt a Condor
  • Immediately report poaching activities to the Department of Fish and Game at 1 888 DFG-CALTIP (888 334-2258)
  • Hunt with non-lead bullets
  • Finally, there are limited and irregular volunteer opportunities with the Ventana Wilderness Society (call them at 831-455-9514)
California Condor and Turkey Vulture

California Condor and Turkey Vulture flying, Big Sur, California — oh yeah, there is a size difference 🙂

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*