Predator pitfalls for live-trapped lizards
A common way to monitor what insects or lizards are around, is to use a live-capture pitfall trap which skinks, geckos and ground-based insects then…
Feisty, melodious tūī is a welcome garden visitor
We New Zealanders love our tūī. Maybe its their feisty, humorous territorial antics. Or maybe it’s the melodious calls interspersed with those ridiculous ‘snorts’. Perhaps…
Sheep, beef farms have significant conservation potential
Productive land such as farms, horticulture and lifestyle blocks make up 60% of the land area in New Zealand and often contains native vegetation. Such…
Waikato pest distribution, detectability studied
A recent study by Brandon Breedt and Carolyn King provides the first estimates of the proportion of the Waikato Region occupied by each of the…
7 surprising facts about hedgehogs
Hedgehogs were first introduced in New Zealand in the 1870s to make British settlers feel more at home. Now, 150 years later, the impact hedgehogs…
A glimpse of the social life of Otago skinks
Researchers have recently been studying the social life of our native skinks – and yes, skinks really do have a social network. Who would have…
Rare alpine seabird is ‘one of a kind’
The Hutton’s shearwater/Kaikōura tītī (Puffinus huttoni) is the only seabird in the world that breeds in an alpine environment, with breeding colonies in the Seaward…
Researchers evaluate what pāteke need for successful reintroduction
Pāteke/brown teal are mainly nocturnal, small dabbling ducks found only in New Zealand. They once inhabited a wide range of habitats including wet forests, swamps,…
Colin Miskelly investigates seabird mysteries
Colin Miskelly is hoping to solve a mystery one day – to find where grey-backed storm petrels breed. They’re one of the smallest seabirds in…
Bringing poo to an island near you…
Even ocean-going birds need to come ashore to breed and when they do, they bring a gift from the oceans with them – nutrient-rich guano…
Longterm banded dotterel study shows predator control benefits
Annual bird counts show that banded dotterels have been declining on our braided rivers for many years. But there’s good news amongst the bad. A…
Our wētāpunga is a world record holder
Its name is Wētāpunga – named for the God of Ugly Things. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and some would say…
Banding aims to uncover turnstone migration mystery
It’s a bit like putting a message in a bottle – banding migratory birds and seeing where else in the world those specific bands are…
A salute to our conservation heroines
Conservation heroines – they’re all around us… everyday people like your neighbour, your Mum, your friend, or that clever inventor who lives at the end…
Monitoring shows ungulates increasing on public conservation land
Not all introduced mammals are predators. Apart from omnivorous pigs, the 14 types of ungulate (hooved) mammals introduced here over the years are all plant-grazers…
