#codfish island

These photos are of the alpine sundew, Drosera stenopetala. There are only two species of alpine sundew in New Zealand. We took them during our volunteering trip to Whenua Hou. #droserastenopetala #whenuahou

A blog post by Emma Sundews (Genus: Drosera) The name ‘Drosera‘ comes from the Greek ‘drosos‘ meaning ‘dew’ or ‘dewdrops’. They are one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants in the world. Like all members of their family (Droseraceae), they lure, capture, and digest insects using a thick, gluey substance called mucilage which they have on stalks covering their leaves. The insects are…

The genus Mohoua is a small group of three birds species endemic to New Zealand: the pīpipi/brown tree creeper (Mohoua novaeseelandiae), the pōpokotea/whitehead (Mohoua albicilla) and, the subject of this post, the mōhua/yellowhead (Mohoua ochrocephala).

Emma and I have had encounters with pīpipi and pōpokoteabefore but, until visiting Whenua Hou, the mōhua had eluded us. All three species…

Kākāpō: New Zealand’s Flightless “Owl” Parrot

For two weeks over the New Zealand 2018/2019 summer, Tom and I volunteered with kākāpō on Whenua Hou Island. You can read about the trip and some of the other species we encountered in our blog post, here.

Whilst we were on the island, we were extremely lucky to have a couple of kākāpō sightings. We also saw plenty of kākāpō sign. Today, we want to introduce you to this charismatic critter…

Volunteering with Kākāpō on Whenua Hou Island

Parenthood, work and life have been keeping us very busy. So much so that it has taken a pandemic and a countrywide lockdown to get Tom and I back in front of the computer again! We hope that everyone is keeping safe. We are well, but it looks like we’ll be spending the next year here in New Zealand and missing this year’s UK ecology season, but that is for the best. How are you all doing?

Thi…

Sooooo as you may have been able to tell from poor tessibears sobbing, I have been away for a week working with yellow eyed penguins on Codfish Island and Stewart Island. Like omg it was amazing. Tramping and bush bashing for 9 hours a day chasing bush penguins and stabbing them with microchips has been awesome. I saw a Kakapo, short tailed bats, fur seals (one which liked to have it's tongue out for the entire duration of my presence, no doubt a Miley Cyrus fan), blue penguins and of course yellow eyed penguins (fluffy and not so fluffy)!! Buut, my ramblings won't do it any justice so I'll post afew picturres for you to drool over. You're welcome.