Kingfisher
[vc_row row_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" column_width_percent="100" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="0" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" shadow="sm" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" equal_height="yes" gutter_size="0" shift_y="5" shift_y_fixed="yes" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" back_image="223" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/3"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="2" back_color="color-xsdn" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="2/3"][vc_custom_heading]Kōtare (Sacred Kingfisher)[/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]The sacred kingfisher is one of the best known birds in New Zealand due to the iconic photographs published over many years by Geoff Moon. These early images showed in detail the prey, the foraging skills and the development of chicks in the nest and as fledgings. Equally recognisable is the hunched silhouette waiting patiently on a powerline or other elevated perch over an estuary or mudflat which converts in a flash to a streak of green diving steeply to catch a prey item.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" overlay_alpha="50" border_color="color-uydo" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner width="1/1"][vc_column_text]The Tiritiri Matangi kingfishers are often observed feeding on skinks.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h="2"][vc_button button_color="accent" size="btn-sm" border_width="0" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fnzbirdsonline.org.nz%2Fspecies%2Fsacred-kingfisher||target:%20_blank|"]Find Out More[/vc_button][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Shining Cuckoos
[vc_row row_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" column_width_percent="100" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="0" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" shadow="sm" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" equal_height="yes" gutter_size="0" shift_y="5" shift_y_fixed="yes" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" back_image="210" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/3"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="2" back_color="color-xsdn" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="2/3"][vc_custom_heading]Pīpīwharauroa (Shining Cuckoo)[/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]The shining cuckoo (shining bronze-cuckoo in Australia) is a summer migrant to New Zealand. It is common throughout New Zealand but it is small and cryptically-coloured and so is more often heard than seen. It has a distinctive whistling call. Two intriguing aspects of its life history are its brood-parasitic habits and the long annual trans-oceanic migration. The New Zealand subspecies breeds only in New Zealand (including Chatham Islands) but other subspecies breed in southern Australia, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and on Rennell and Bellona Islands (Solomon Islands).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" overlay_alpha="50" border_color="color-uydo" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Shining cuckoos are heard, and often seen, on Tiritiri Matangi every year, though it is not clear whether they breed on the Island or simply pass through. Breeding is possible, as there are resident grey warblers, though these are not as common on the Island as many other birds.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h="2"][vc_button button_color="accent" size="btn-sm" border_width="0" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fnzbirdsonline.org.nz%2Fspecies%2Fshining-cuckoo||target:%20_blank|"]Find Out More[/vc_button][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]Swamp Harrier
[vc_row row_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" column_width_percent="100" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="0" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" shadow="sm" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" equal_height="yes" gutter_size="0" shift_y="5" shift_y_fixed="yes" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" back_image="210" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/3"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="2" back_color="color-xsdn" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="2/3"][vc_custom_heading]Kahu (Swamp Harrier)[/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]The swamp harrier is a large, tawny-brown bird of prey that occurs throughout New Zealand. It is an opportunistic hunter that searches for food by slowly quartering the ground with its large wings held in a distinctive shallow V-shape. Adapted to hunt in open habitats, its numbers have benefitted from widespread forest clearance and the development of agriculture. Although carrion is a major component of the harrier’s diet, it also actively hunts live prey such as small birds, mammals and insects. Capable dispersers, birds from New Zealand visit islands as far north as the Kermadec Islands and as far south as Campbell Island. Known for their dramatic ‘sky-dancing’ courtship display the swamp harrier is the largest of the 16 species of harriers found worldwide.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" overlay_alpha="50" border_color="color-uydo" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner width="1/1"][vc_column_text]It is not unusual to see harriers soaring over Tiritiri Matangi in search of prey. They have large territorial ranges and frequently visit from the mainland. They have been known to take brown teal/pateke and kokako. Harriers only take prey that is on the ground, on a pond or in a tree, so a bird’s best way of escaping a harrier’s talons is to take flight. Flocks of birds have been observed mobbing harriers as they hunt and occasionally are successful in chasing them out of an area.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h="2"][vc_button button_color="accent" size="btn-sm" border_width="0" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fnzbirdsonline.org.nz%2Fspecies%2Fswamp-harrier||target:%20_blank|"]Find Out More[/vc_button][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]Bellbird
[vc_row row_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" column_width_percent="100" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="0" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" shadow="sm" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" equal_height="yes" gutter_size="0" shift_y="5" shift_y_fixed="yes" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" back_image="210" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/3"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="2" back_color="color-xsdn" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="2/3"][vc_custom_heading]Korimako (Bellbird)[/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]Bellbirds are the most widespread and familiar honeyeater in the South Island, and are also common over much of the North Island. Their song is a welcome sound in mainland forests that otherwise may have little native bird song. Although they have a brush-like tongue which is used to reach deeply into flowers to reach nectar, bellbirds also feed on fruits and insects. In feeding on nectar they play an important ecological role in pollinating the flowers of many native trees and shrubs. Subsequently, when feeding on the fruits that result from this pollination they have a role in dispersing the seeds, and so they assist in the regeneration of the forest in at least two ways.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" overlay_alpha="50" border_color="color-uydo" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Bellbirds have always existed on Tiritiri Matangi and the population continues to grow every year. They have flown across to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula from Tiritiri Matangi and have been observed to be breeding in Manly and in Shakespear Regional Park[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h="2"][vc_button button_color="accent" size="btn-sm" border_width="0" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fnzbirdsonline.org.nz%2Fspecies%2Fbellbird||target:%20_blank|"]Find Out More[/vc_button][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]Little Spotted Kiwi
[vc_row row_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" column_width_percent="100" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="0" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" shadow="sm" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" equal_height="yes" gutter_size="0" shift_y="5" shift_y_fixed="yes" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" back_image="198" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/3"][vc_single_image media="202" media_width_percent="100" lbox_caption="yes" lbox_deep="yes"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" override_padding="yes" column_padding="2" back_color="color-xsdn" overlay_alpha="50" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="2/3"][vc_custom_heading]Kiwi Pukupuku (Little Spotted Kiwi)[/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]The smallest of the five kiwi species. Formerly widespread on both main islands, but now confined to offshore islands and one mainland sanctuary. Flightless, with tiny vestigial wings and no tail. Nocturnal, therefore more often heard than seen. Male gives a repeated high-pitched ascending whistle, female gives a slower and lower pitched warbling whistle. Light brownish grey finely mottled or banded horizontally with white, long pale bill, short pale legs, toes and claws.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column column_width_percent="100" gutter_size="3" overlay_alpha="50" border_color="color-uydo" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" shift_y_down="0" z_index="0" medium_width="0" mobile_width="0" width="1/1"][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent="0" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" shift_y="0" z_index="0"][vc_column_inner width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Day visitors to Tiritiri Matangi are likely to see all but one of the translocated species of bird present on the Island. The one they almost certainly won’t see is the little spotted kiwi because, like all Kiwi, they are nocturnal. For those fortunate enough to spend the night on the Island, a night walk can be a most rewarding experience. As the Kiwi population grows and the birds become increasingly tolerant of human presence, the chance of an encounter has gone from being a possibility to a probability.
Five pairs of little spotted kiwi were released on Tiri in 1993, followed by six more birds two years later. A 1997 census showed the birds were breeding well with a population of around 25. This included the largest ever little spotted kiwi recorded at the time, a female weighing almost 2kg (this has since been surpassed on Tiri).
Endemic to New Zealand, there are also four other distinct species of kiwi. By far the most common are the brown kiwi (in the North Island) and tokoeka (on Stewart Island). The others are the rowi, which is by far the rarest kiwi species, and the great spotted kiwi. The little spotted is the smallest species of kiwi. The only certain populations are on offshore islands, with most of these on Kapiti Island.
Despite being our national symbol, the kiwi is rarely seen outside of captivity. It is a tragedy that, without outside help they are expected to all but disappear from the mainland within fifty years. The reason for this is predation. Although adults can generally fend off attacks from all but dogs, other predators, particularly stoats, wreak havoc on nests and juvenile populations. Juveniles leave their parents very early and it is believed that only 1-5% survive their first year. There is some hope however, thanks to 'Operation Nest Egg', a programme whereby eggs and juvenile kiwi are removed from the wild and raised in captivity. They are then released into their original habitat when large enough to fend for themselves.
On Tiritiri Matangi, there is a census of little spotted kiwi every five years. In July 2012, 32 individual birds were caught and a further three were seen. Four of the captured birds were from the original translocation in 1993. The estimated total population for the Island is 80-100 birds, a 38% increase on the 60-70 estimated in 2007. During the 2012 survey, five males were found incubating eggs. These are the earliest nests ever recorded for little spotted kiwi, two months earlier than expected.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h="2"][vc_button button_color="accent" size="btn-sm" border_width="0" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fnzbirdsonline.org.nz%2Fspecies%2Flittle-spotted-kiwi||target:%20_blank|"]Find Out More[/vc_button][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]