Lake Orbell in the Murchison Mountains has long been a restricted area. It is the home of the Takahē Recovery Program. Run by New Zealand’s Dept. of Conservation. Sure I have a personal interest in all things New Zealand native birds! But the re-discovery of takahē by Dr G. Orbell in 1948 has a link… Continue reading Takahē and Lake Orbell, Fiordland National Park
Category: Climate Change
End of Summer Snowline Survey | NIWA
New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research [NIWA] has just carried out and published their annual aerial glacier survey, and for all sorts of reasons apart from their most experienced glaciologist taking part, and the pilot, a very experienced mountaineer, both being old friends and integral to it’s success, there is my own… Continue reading End of Summer Snowline Survey | NIWA
Godwits in trouble on migration from New Zealand to breeding grounds in Alaska
Ecologist Rachel Hufton reports Many shorebird populations are in serious decline along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. The rapid loss of coastal wetlands (attributed to land reclamation) in the Yellow Sea, which provide critical stop-over/ re-fuelling sites for shorebirds during migration is believed to be the cause of this alarming trend. The Yalu Jiang coastal wetland,… Continue reading Godwits in trouble on migration from New Zealand to breeding grounds in Alaska
The great New Zealand lupin debate and why it matters
First we need to talk about the lupin’s favoured environment being mainily the braided rivers which drain the Southern Alps – rivers that find it impossible to run in a straight line, and be anything other than dynamic. When in flood braided rivers carry sediment from the ever rising mountains [geologically speaking] and landslides that… Continue reading The great New Zealand lupin debate and why it matters
Are there more tūī in Wanaka, and other NZ towns?
Over the last few weeks a funny thing has been happening to me re. our New Zealand bird, the iconic tūī. Perhaps because I’ve been able to spend sometime with a few and apart from taking the opportunity to capture the way light reflects from their stunning feather colours and texture, I’ve also used their… Continue reading Are there more tūī in Wanaka, and other NZ towns?