Habitat Tours

  • Resources
    • About Tawharanui
    • Blog
  • Gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • ABOUT US
    • Sponsorship & Conservation
    • Company Overview
    • Testimonials
    • Terms And Conditions
  • Sustainability & Conservation
  • Resources
    • About Tawharanui
    • Blog
  • Gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • ABOUT US
    • Sponsorship & Conservation
    • Company Overview
    • Testimonials
    • Terms And Conditions
  • Sustainability & Conservation

Habitat Tours Blog

What makes NZ birds so precious?

9/6/2016

0 Comments

 
What makes NZ birds so precious?
 
It’s no exaggeration when we call New Zealand a twitcher’s paradise. We are known as the seabird capital of the world, and are one of the few places with so many flightless birds, too.
 
There are roughly 200 bird species in the country, of which 90 or so are endemic. This high number of birds that you won’t find anywhere else in the world is due to a very special set of circumstances throughout the entire course of New Zealand’s history.
 
Before humans came to New Zealand
 
An estimated 80 million years ago, continental drift saw New Zealand move away from Gondwanaland, and effectively set itself up as an isolated breeding ground for new and exciting species.
 
For some reason that scientists are still struggling to explain, no mammals (apart from three bat species) ever managed to evolve here. This means that there were no possums, cats, stoats, or larger mammals to threaten birds and insects.
 
Emerging bird species were therefore allowed to thrive and grow. The country was something of a sanctuary where there we no predators, and therefore normally ‘weaker’ species such as flightless birds were able to survive. On top of this, the natural flora allowed plentiful food sources close to, or on the ground, offering flightless birds an array of dining options within easy reach.
 
What happened once humans arrived
 
Humans arrived in New Zealand roughly 800 years ago, and sadly, this caused a major disruption to the native birdlife.
 
Since then, approximately 50 bird species have become extinct, such as the striking moa, which was a relation to Australia’s emu. According to the Department of Conservation, the extinction rate of endemic land birds in the country is 34 per cent, which is extremely high.
 
While some of this loss is attributed to deforestation and even hunting, the majority of the threat comes from the introduction of predators. Early settlers introduced possums to diversify the fauna and create a fur trade, while cats, stoats, and rabbits were all also brought to the country.
 
With this, the thus-far unthreatened birdlife of New Zealand saw a surge in hungry, powerful pests that decimated populations by preying on eggs and nests. As they had evolved without any defences against such attacks, there was little they could do to survive.
 
New Zealand birds today
 
Today, more than a third of our bird species are considered threatened, but the efforts towards conservation and awareness have been exponentially improved.
The last time a bird became extinct was back in 1907 when the world said goodbye to its very last huia.
 
Despite the losses, New Zealand is still home to an incredible array of birds that you won’t find anywhere else. Our national icon, the flightless kiwi, has more than 90 groups dedicated to its conservation, and there are now approximately 68,000 kiwis left in the country – we usually see one during our Tawharanui night-time tours from Auckland roughly 70 per cent of the time.
 
Other species, such as the takahe (once thought to be extinct), the stitch bird, the black stilt, the kokako, and the pateke, are all the focus of major conservation programmes designed to rehabilitate these populations so that twitchers can enjoy this natural paradise for years to come. 
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Tristan Cullen - Passionate Conservationist

    Categories

    All
    Auckland Tourist Attractions
    Bird Sounds
    Geocahes Auckland
    Insiders Guide
    New Zealand Flora
    Tawharanui Views

    Archives

    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Follow Us
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Contact Us
​

International Calls: +64 21 422 707 
Email us on info@habitattours.co.nz  


Translate Site
Picture
© Habitat Tours Ltd  |  All Rights Reserved  |  Design by PublicEye Creative