Back in Queenstown

I have been back in Queenstown for nearly a week and although I have had several banding sessions haven't caught a lot of birds. A session at the neighbours apple orchard was not very successful, all the apples have gone and along with them the Silvereyes. Two sessions here were also not very successful but today with nets up in a different position I was more successful, getting into double figures for the first time.

The combined totals of the 4 sessions was 42 birds of 7 species with 16 new and 26 recaps.
Totals were - (recaps in brackets)
Blackbird - 1
Chaffinch - 2
House Sparrow - 7 (6)
Dunnock - 3 (7)
Greenfinch - 1
Tui - 3 (7) all caught today.
Bellbird - 0 (4) It would almost appear that I have banded most of the local Tui and Bellbird, but I doubt it, probably just the less clever ones.

Sorry no photos, I left my camera in Christchurch.

Preparing for Robin demonstrations in Zealandia

Annette is a long term and very experienced member of the Wellington based banding group. She wrote the following report about preparing Robins to demonstrate some aspects of their natural behaviour to visitors at Zealandia.

  

N.I. Robin foraging and caching demonstrations at Zealandia.

As part of some of the daily Walk and Talk sessions at Zealandia, guides are demonstrating N.I. Robin foraging and caching behaviour.

Learning to associate a particular sound with the possibility of food, uncovering food by tossing aside material, and caching food, are all aspects of the Robins’ natural behaviour, and these demonstrations provide an opportunity for visitors to observe them at close quarters.

To prepare for these demonstrations we looked for male robins along the route the walks usually take, and found four suitable candidates. Because males are dominant at food sources, especially outside the breeding season, if we had chosen females they would probably have been aggressively chased, and we always try to minimise the effect our actions have on natural behaviour. Robins are territorial, and pairs generally divide their territory in the winter and the females stay in their own part to avoid any aggressive interaction.

It was also important for the males to be quite a way apart from each other, and for our interaction with them to take place towards the centre of their territory, to avoid the likelihood of our actions precipitating a territorial dispute.

To make sure these precautions are effective it is of course important that the resident male is the only Robin that is fed at each site, so each bird had to be banded so it could be positively identified.  They were caught using a drop trap baited with a mealworm. When the bird moves towards the worm at the back of the cage the string attached to the stick is pulled and the trap drops gently down. Very basic, but generally very effective. 

Chatham Island Black Robin approaching drop trap. Photo Nikki McArthur

 Once caught, each bird was banded with a unique combination of four bands. A metal band with a unique number is the crucial identification, but so they can be identified at a distance three colour bands are also used, one above the metal band and the other two on the other leg. These bands are read from the top down, and the bird’s left leg first, then right leg.

O/M-R/O (Orange/Metal-Red Orange) Colour Banded North Island Robin 

Most of the Robins in Zealandia are not banded, but on the east side of the upper dam there is a fully banded population of about 100 birds which are used for research.

Once appropriate Robins had been found and banded, a spot well away from other robins was chosen for each one, and they were encouraged to respond to a ‘dinner bell’ (2 metal pipes tapped together) by coming to uncover a tasty morsel hidden in a log.

In places which have tracking tunnels and a robin population, it is usual for the robins to learn to associate the sound of these wooden boxes being opened with the possibility of an insect feast, so we used this tendency to attract them to a spot where they could be seen clearly by visitors.

The Robins were first given a mealworm in the hole in the log with the cover off, so they could see it. When they were used to this, the hole was progressively covered with the leather flap until they learnt to flick it aside, as they would toss aside leaves on the ground to uncover food.

G/W-K/M (Green/White-Black/Metal)  ready to retrieve a mealworm in Zealandia.   Photo: Andrew Hawke

When the robin is full, rather than flying away or ignoring the food, as most birds would do, it will carry it off and put it in a cavity in a tree so that it can retrieve it later when it is hungry.

This caching behaviour is unique among the birds found in New Zealand.  

Overseas, species such as Jays and Woodpeckers cache food such as acorns, but this is in response to an abundance of seasonal food available for a limited time (often in autumn), and they use their caches over weeks or months, to supply food when it is scarce in winter.

In contrast, the insects that New Zealand Robins eat are available all year round, and are perishable, so they usually retrieve the food within a few hours. They sometimes catch quite large prey such as weta or stick insects. They batter these against a log until they are broken into manageable pieces, but often they do not want to eat them all at once, so their caching behaviour may have arisen as a response to this.

Interestingly, although both the North Island and South Island Robins cache, the black Robin - the third NZ Robin species, which is found only in the Chatham Islands, and whose status is nationally critical – does not.

Queenstown - the last week

We are now back in Christchurch but I did manage to get a bit of banding in before leaving Q/Town. I had sessions both around the home property and in the neighbour's orchard.

The combined totals for the period since the last post were 92 birds of 6 species caught with 64 new and 28 recaps -
Blackbird - 1
House Sparrow - 27 (2)
Dunnock - 0 (1)
Silvereye - 26 (18) among the recaps were several banded back last Sept. perhaps indicating a flock returning to the area.
Tui - 7 (3) the number of Tui that are about continues to amaze me.
Bellbird - 3 (4) another female caught brings the total to 6 with the male total at 25.

We will be heading back south for a while next week so should get some more banding in then.

Queenstown - Some Girls

I have had a couple of sessions in the last few days. One at the neighbours apple orchard where I caught mostly Silvereyes, although numbers were well down with fewer birds about. The other session was here where mostly new Tui were caught plus a few Bellbirds. The combined total caught was 38 birds of 5 species with 31 new and 7 recaps.

Silvereye - 15 (1) as well as fewer birds feeding on the apples the nets were poorly positioned.
House Sparrow - 4 (1)
Dunnock - 1
Bellbird - 2 (3) the 2 new birds were both female the ratio is now 5 female to 23 male.

One of the new female Bellbird.

Tui - 8 (2) there appears to have been an influx of new birds in the last week or so. Of the 10 birds caught 9 were female. this is a big contrast to previous sessions.

Back in Queenstown

We have been back in Queenstown now for several days and I have managed to get a bit of banding in. I have had a couple of sessions here and a couple in the neighbours apple orchard where there are a lot of apples left on the trees. Silvereyes are at the moment in large numbers in this orchard.

There are still heaps of apples to keep birds well fed.

Have caught 106 birds of 9 species with 89 new and 17 recaptures.
Combined totals for all sessions are - (Recaps in brackets)
Blackbird - 1
Song Thrush - 1 (1)
Chaffinch - 1 (1)
House Sparrow 12 (3)
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Bellbird - 5 (1) All were males, Have now banded 25 birds here and all but 3 have been males.

Two male Bellbirds

Tui - 5 (2) although not as biased as Bellbirds males also dominate the catch. I have run out of bands for them and am waiting on some more from the Banding Office. When I first started banding here I hadn't expected to catch Tui and didn't bring any YP bands for males. After catching one and releasing it unbanded I got some bands for them expecting to catch half a dozen or so. I have now banded 32 and there are still unbanded birds about.

A male Tui

A Tui caught in a net would make a good candidate for an "Angry Birds" show.

Silvereye - 61 (8) the majority have been caught in the apple orchard next door.
Grey Warbler - 1

Kapiti Island hihi end of season wrap up

The main hihi field work on Kapiti Island has finished at the end of March and it was a solid season overall. A total of 134 birds were identified throughout the season. This number is made up of 97 adults identified in the October 2015 pre-breeding census, and 37 birds banded throughout the season - 20 adults and 17 juveniles. The pre-breeding census count of 97 birds is slightly down on the previous season where 104 birds were identified. But the total end of season figure of 134 is slightly higher than the 129 identified at the end of the 2014/2015 season.

Taking a tarsus measurement. Photo: Dallas Bishop

From April 2015 to March 2016 a total of 3879L of sugar water was dragged up the hill with 3260L (84%) of this being consumed. This was an increase on distribution but a decrease on consumption from last season. The hinau on the island flowered strongly this season, as did the rewarewa. Both of these species are key food sources for hihi, while the rata and pohutukawa had a poor flowering season which may have affected the increased numbers of feisty and dominant korimako/bellbirds using the feeding stations.

Count all the male hihi!

The Hihi Heroes (volunteers) contributed approximately 560hrs to the hihi program during the 2015/2016 season which allowed for more sugar to make it up the hill and really helped with the accuracy of the pre-breeding census.

The flash new interpretation sign at one of the feeding stations.

Here’s hoping that many of the 134 banded birds (as well as the others that evaded capture) survive the winter and we have another successful season in 2016/2017. 

Queenstown - last week roundup

I am up in Christchurch at the moment and will be here for the next couple of weeks or so. We are taking possession of our new dwelling so will be living here for most of the time but still hope to get down to Queenstown on a regular basis to continue the banding study.

During the period before we left Queenstown I managed to get some nets up on a couple of days and also had a session at the neighbours were Silvereyes have started to feed in an apple orchard. Mark the neighbour has left a lot of fruit for the birds. Since the last post 55 birds of 8 species were caught with 42 new and 13 recaps.

A bit of snow about and we had several good frosts

Silvereye - 22 (1)
House Sparrow - 10 (6)
Chaffinch - 3 (0)
Blackbird - 0 (1)
Song Thrush - 0 (1)
Dunnock - 1 (0)
Tui - 6 (2)

Some big male Tui about but they don't seem to be as big or as heavy as those in Wellington.

Bellbird - 0 (2)
I should be back down there for a week or so later in June so hopefully will get a bit of banding in then.