The year 4-8 class at National Park school, called Te Whiowhio and Paretetaitonga, spent five weeks doing lots of learning about geocaching and the geocaching culture. They have created ten geocaches and placed them around the National Park village area. Each cache includes information about an aspect of National Park village life. Please enjoy the mahi (work) they have done, and be sure to leave them a comment on the website!
We'd like to share with you about some of the birds you might see around National Park and Raurimu while you enjoy this lovely view of our mountains.
1. Kereru (New Zealand pigeon) is a colourful forest bird, which is a member of the pigeon family. It is endemic to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. They are large - up to 650g and 50cm long. They are fruit feeders. They make a distinct loud whoosh whoosh whoosh noise when they are flying. Their conservation status is Not threatened.
2. Tui is another wonderful endemic bird, mostly seen in parks and gardens, but also in the bush. They are nectar feeders - they especially love Kowhai trees and flax bushes. If you only see Tui from a distance you might think they are just black, but close up and in the sunlight, you will see they have iridescent green feathers on their head, blue feathers on their back and wings, sometimes brown can be seen also, with white whiskery feathers around the back of the neck and a white tuft under their chin. Tui are noisy, chatty birds with a complicated mix of sounds and song interspersed with gutteral noises. They have two voice boxes so have quite the vocal range and have been known to mimmick. There are two sub-species - the Tui seen throughout the North and South islands is Not threatened, but the Chatham Island Tui is Threatened.
3. Whio is another bird that is endemic to New Zealand. They are a large blue/grey duck with a red spotted chest. They have a pale pink/grey beak with a black rubbery tip that protects the beak while foraging for food around the rocks. Whio are one of only four species of duck in the world that live all year round in fast flowing rivers. Each pair have their own territory - about 1km of river. Their nests are always at risk from predators as they next on the ground next to the river. The males and females look alike but make different sounds - the male has a loud whistle that sounds like 'whi-o!', while the female makes a ratting sound a bit like a tractor. They are Nationally vulnerable.
4. Bellbirds are endemic forest birds that blend in with our trees. They are green birds with black wings and tail, and a purplish tinge to the head. Their song is often confused with the Tui, but doesn't have the gutteral sounds. Their beautiful distinct bell-like song is mostly heard when they are in groups at dawn and dusk. Bellbirds are the most widespread honeyeater in the South Island, and are also common over much of the North Island. They keep our forests alive by pollinating the flowers of native trees and shrubs, and then they also eat the fruit that results and disperse the seeds. They are Not threatened.
5. Sacred kingfisher is one of eight sub-species, the only one found in New Zealand. All Kingfishers have excellent vision and can see into the water – even adjusting for refraction, which can make a fish look closer to the surface than it really is. They nest in holes in cliff faces or riverbanks, they are most commonly seen in coastal areas and around inland lakes and rivers. They have many different calls which are not song-like, the one that is most easy to recognise is the staccato 'kek, kek, kek, kek'. They are Not threatened.
6. There are two kinds of quails in New Zealand, both are introduced. One from America (California Quail) and the other from Australia (Brown Quail). You won't see the Australian one around here though (small, round, and brown), they like the warmer climate up north. There used to be an endemic species but they became extinct. Quails can lay 10 to 20 eggs at one time! They have many calls including one that sounds like they are laughing.
7. Starlings are introduced. They have amazingly beautiful feathers, with spots and zigzags and iridescent colours. There are up to 114 species of Starlings in the world.
8.The New Zealand Falcon is an endemic forest bird, but can also be found nesting in pine plantations. The New Zealand Falcon is capable of flying at speeds over 100 km/h, and it can catch prey larger than itself. They enjoy live/fresh food, rather than roadkill, which is a favourite of the hawks. Their conservation status is Recovering.
9.The Fantail is an endemic forest and garden/park bird which is abundant and very friendly. They love to chatter at you while they follow you on your bush walk (catching all the little insects you stir up as you walk by), which is so cool. They build distinctive nests with hanging tails under protective foliage in tree forks, lay three or more speckled white eggs, and raise two to five broods in a season. They are small birds with a very pretty black and white striped tail that they distinctly fan out while they flit around from branch to branch. They are Not threatened.
10.The Swamp Harrier or Harrier Hawk is not native. They are very fast at catching their prey - small to medium birds and mammals as well as insects, lizards, and frogs, but most of their diet is roadkill - these are the birds you see gliding or swooping around the roads when you are driving in the country.
11. Tomtits are one of the cutest endemic forest birds in New Zealand. The male North Island subspecies is black and white, with a black head, back, wings and a white belly, where the female is brown and white. The subspecies from the South Island, the Chatham Islands and Auckland Islands are similar, but have a yellow breast. Tomtits are a small bird about the size of a sparrow. They are Not threatened.
12.The Morepork (Ruru) are a native forest owl that is small and dark, blending in perfectly with the trees. Listen for them at night because they are nocturnal and you might hear their distinct 'More-pork' call. The morepork is New Zealand's only surviving native owl, other sub-species are found in Australia (Boobook Owl).
Watch and listen out for these twelve wonderful birds around National Park and Raurimu.
We have included some drawings of native birds for the first visitors to take away as treasure.