pukekowatcher

[pukekowatcher]

Off the Grid

Ok, fellow Pukeko watchers, I've been off the grid as university and work commitments have been great! But I have some very cool stuff saved to post, including some new found hobbies to add to my exciting nature adventures so keep watching this space!

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New Pukeko Site Found!

On the 20/7/14 approximately 10 Pukeko and Moor hens were seen in the swampland off Minmi Road, Maryland, NSW, Australia at approximately 1pm AEST. The temperature was approximately 18 degrees and overcast weather. There were far too many ibis to count, as well as several White faced heron and about 6 Australian Coot. They were swimming and foraging among the reeds, much like in the footage of the Swamp Hen at Blackbutt Reserve. There were no negative interactions between any of the species observed and all the bird species present were happy to share the foraging space. I have returned to the area on the 21/7/14 and not seen any Pukeko, but I will keep monitoring the site as I travel near enough to it to detour every now and then. Sadly I didn’t have a camera with me.

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As it turns out the next video is too large for this blog. I have a program which will cut it into manageable sizes and it will be uploaded in due time!

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This, and the next video I post is the fascinating behaviour of the large family of Purple Swamp Hens at the Ourimbah campus of The University of Newcastle that first got me interested in this species! So intelligent! The way the bird has learnt to get food for itself is fascinating and shows a highly evolved way of thinking! As you will see in the next video I post, The birds are very much non aggressive and, unlike other bird species seen in Australia are not at all greedy. The pukekos here will share food with others and even hold up food for the chicks to peck at.

Not videoed, but seen on the same day, the Pukeko will also break up other bits of large food with its beak and hold it out for chicks with its feet! This was filmed in February this year, giving an indication of their breeding season! The chicks seen in the next video were filmed two days prior to this one and the food they are eating gained in the same fashion to in this video. This video was taken on the 19/2/14. It was a rainy day averaging about 15 degrees and was at about 11.30am AEST. In this video the bird gets a piece of hamburger bun and in the next a chocolate muffin.

This gives a very large indication as to the influences of the humans within their habitat, and, as you will see in the next video, the birds will even climb onto occupied table and chairs if there is a possibility of food! The presence of the lone duck did not bother them, and yes, they did later share their spoils with that same duck.

These videos were filmed by Joy Hadfield who was present with me at the time. We affectionately named them "David Attenborough; University of Newcastle" Style Videos.

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Secluded, comfortable lodge and motel style accommodation located in Turangi, on the Turangi River in New Zealands central North Island .A wonderful relaxing retreat for lovers of the outdoors. Family, children and dogs welcome.

  Some Interesting Information with names and pictures of the Ducks common to New Zealand. Many of these are seen in the post about the ducks seen on Lake Wakitipu below. There are also links to other birds, such as wetland birds etc, native to New Zealand.

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As promised for anyone interested, a video of the New Zealand Scaups. The video is a little irrelevant at the end as I somehow locked the camera and couldn't figure out how to unlock it and stop recording. This was filmed at the Duck pond at the Kiwi Birdlife Conservation Park, Queenstown, New Zealand. Weather was overcast and approximately 0 degrees. Filmed at approximately 2.30pm NZST.

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Paradise Farm, Glenorchy, New Zealand.

Four Pukekos were sighted on the 16/7/14 at Paradise Farm in Glenorchy New Zealand. They were within the same area, although fairly spread out. They were on land, although a swampish pond was nearby (photo included). Not encountering humans very much, they were fairly wary of my presence and made observation at close quarters impossible. My photos are of poor quality but I assure you the birds there are Pukekos. I have placed circles around one of the photos for convenience. The photos give an idea of the environment. The farm land itself is quite flat with a secluded pond. At the time in question a couple of Paradise Shellducks were in the vicinity of the pond, perhaps explaining why they were not in the pond itself (?). The Pukekos were pecking through the grass, perhaps looking for bugs or desirable plants to eat. I did not see any direct interactions between the Pukeko's themselves or any other individuals as I could only observe these individuals for about 15 minutes due to time restraints. I can say they did not seem to have any qualms with being near the sheep (seen in the photos), which are bred for meat. Upon seeing me, the Pukeko's retreated nearer to the sheep.

On the bus ride home I saw three separate other pair of Pukeko's from the bus. I did not have a chance to observe them for any length of time, but in each of these cases the birds were in a pond with no other birds.

The time for these sightings was between 4 and 5pm NZST and the temperature was 0 degrees.

The bus driver gave me some interesting insights;

The Pukeko are in smaller numbers on this farm than they used to be due to the farm dog which is let out without restraint (sadly). as well as the stoat and ferret population on the property.

As previously mentioned, the Paradise Ducks are territorial and scare away the Pukekos.

The colder temperatures (much colder than in Australia) do not bother the Pukekos, and, according to the bus driver can be seen "skating" across the ice of frozen water of their ponds in temperatures of -10 degrees.

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Some of the local bird life seen on the shore of Lake Wakitipu in Queenstown.

Breeds of Duck include the Paradise Shelduck (Putanitangi), Mallard Duck, Grey Duck (Parea), Cross of Mallard and Grey Duck and New Zealand Scaup (Papango). There is also a picture of a black billed seagull. Some interesting facts I discovered from the locals:

The Paradise Duck is very common to New Zealand. The female, unlike other bird species, is the sex which displays different colouration to attract a male. The female has a white coloured head. These ducks mate for life and if the female dies the male will stand next to her body until he starves to death. The female, on the other hand, will fly away in the event of her partners death to obtain a younger and more attractive mate. This species is also highly territorial and is the reason fewer Pukeko are seen in their presence.

The New Zealand Scaup is a diving duck and can stay below water for a lot longer than other ducks and dives much deeper. It was actually quite difficult to photograph these ducks as they kept diving down right as I was about to take the picture. Soon I will post a video!

These ducks are extremely friendly and used to human presence. They will gladly come and actually eat food out of your hand. Nearby for a small donation you can buy bread to feed them. These pictures were taken at the same time as the Australian coot under the same weather and temperature conditions and were seen each day of my trip in Queenstown (13/7/14 - 19/7/14).

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Interesting news article on Purple Swamp Hen populations in the Newcastle area. Originally published 27/10/14.

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Interesting news article on Purple Swamp Hen populations in the Newcastle area. Originally published 27/10/10.

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Added Information to Eurasion Coot Sighting.

I should note that due to restricted internet access and getting sick after landing back in Sydney I am only just getting around to updating all my exciting bird sightings. I am doing this from bed (still sick) so forgive me for forgetting such an important detail such as the date of the sighting!

The date was 14/7/14, ~12pm NZST, at the edge of Lake Wakitipu, Queenstown, New Zealand. There was one individual and two individuals were sighted at the same place around the same time on the 17/7/14, 18/7/14 and the 19/7/14. Combined observation time around 1-2 hours.

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For anyone who enjoyed the pictures of the Australian Coot in the last post here is some further information on it. This species is in the same family as the Pukeko and gives some valuable insight into its behaviour as it lives in similar environments, under similar conditions. As outlined in the previous post I saw many similarities between the Australian Coot and Purple Swamp Hen from Blackbutt Reserve. An exciting sighting as this species has only recently expanded into New Zealand and also resides here in Australia (as suggested by its name!).

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So as I eluded I did see some Pukeko on my trip to New Zealand as I had hoped but I'm going to share some other interesting New Zealand birds as well as I found some very interesting local birdlife!

I had hoped that I would see more Pukeko than I did as my research indicated large populations throughout all of New Zealand. However, on the shores of Lake Wakitipu where we were staying in Queenstown there was a large  population of ducks, seagulls and various water birds EXCEPT Pukeko (despite there being thousands of sightings of tourist souvenir Pukeko).

I did however see the Eurasian Coot and in the same family as the Pukeko! I have included some pictures which illustrate some off the differences between Pukeko and Moor hen nicely. These include:

Colouration; black with red eyes and white cap.

Toes are not long, but partially webbed and padded.

They swim in a very similar fashion to Dusky Moorhen and as seen at Blackbutt Reserve, Interact very well with the local ducks and are not scared by watching tourists and onlookers. The weather was very clear with some sun and the temperature was 6 degrees.

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And we have a Pukeko sighting! Glenorchy, NZ. More details to come As there is limited internet!

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Fact sheets on Animals in Blackbutt Reserve where I undertook an observation today. Purple Swamp Hens is not on here ( :( ) but if anyone is interested in the duck types I have been referring to they are on here as well as some of the other species at the park.

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Friday, 11th July, 12pm; Black Duck Picnic Area

Dusky Moor Hen on paved area following children disappearing.

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Friday, 11th July, 12pm; Black Duck Picnic Area

Foraging in water. Two birds.