I work as a volunteer in Zealandia, an urban wildlife sanctuary in the heart of Wellington, the 'coolest little capital' in the world. Here you can follow some of the things that I do, such as nest monitoring, feeding and talking about one of the rarest birds in the world or showing visitors the wonders of this amazing little valley.
When not in Zealandia I spend a large part of my time enjoying the wonderful outdoor environment Wellington has to offer. Biking, running, roller -blading, swimming and dragon-boat racing are some of the pleasures to be had amongst the tree clad hills, the winding roads and the ever changing harbour.
Living in Te Upoko O te Ika (the Maori name for Wellington meaning The Head of the Fish) is never boring with its wild climate and rugged terrain. I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I will enjoy describing this amazing place and its animals to you.

Monday 14 October 2013

Baby Boom

Our eggs arehatching and our babies are booming.

My buddy checked our nests last week and now we have five fine fluffy babies. At least we think it is five-it has hard to visually separate the little scrum of bodies into the right number of heads and legs. Our first photo snapped was of a just hatched wee chick one of the youngest so far photographed.

The karuhiruhi or pied shags which nested so close to the pontoon have produced three chicks each and if you are patient you will get to see them as Mum shifts or feeds them.
Tiny pied shag chicks.

Photo:
by Bill Beale from Zealandia's web site: http://www.visitzealandia.com/



Only its mother would love it?  Photo by Bill Beale

One kaka baby hatched and one kaka baby hatching

I can see four heads ..or is it five?



Another nest with two newly hatched chicks.
Kaka chicks huddle together for warmth when Mum is away.


 Ten day old kaka babies.Video by Alfie Kaka





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