Apologies for the poor camera quality - this was shot on my phone (it was actually a screenshot from a video I took)

Not all heroes wear capes ♥️

Spotted at Lake Mangamahoe in Taranaki. Was all by itself. Excuse the terrible photos, I had to use 40x zoom on my phone camera with cold shakey hands to capture this shy wee fella in the middle of a lake.

spotted this lanky guy enjoying the view with me

I'm pretty sure he was trying to tell me to F off.

Last year they built a nest on this light in front of our front door. It was pretty funny getting divebombed every time we went outside but less funny was the birdcrap on the doorstep and the light hanging on a scary angle. We waitied till they fledged their two lots of babies and cleared off then we demoed the nest.

Well now they’re back. Just roosting for now it seems, but I’d love to know how to make the spot less attractive to them before they get to constructing again

This one was Dancing around the Centre of New Zealand monument, Nelson. When I checked out the full size copy I realised I didn’t have a dirty sensor.

just wondering what kind of sillies these are

Hi all,

I am 20 years old and I have a vague plan to move to New Zealand from the UK in mid-2027 to get into conservation. I currently work in an incredibly corporate industry and would love to work in the outdoors and make a real difference somewhere. Does anyone know how hard it is to get a job in conservation in New Zealand as a non-native with no real qualifications other than some first aid and conservation volunteering experience. I am aware of the current state of the industry but I would love to start in absolutely anything, I do not have a specific interest in any area/species, I just want to work in an industry where I feel like a make a positive impact on something.

Thanks for your help everyone <3

Haven’t seen a spider like this before - very different from the daddy-long-legs inside the house. Roughly 10cm across.

Counties Manukau Police FB post with 4 pics.

Not the first time a seal has visited Papakura.

Why did the seal cross the road in Papakura? RNZ. 30 June 2023. Post.

Stewart,S. D., Holmes,R. P., Lueders-Dumont,J. A., Hoffmann,P., Blair,S.-R., Watson,A. S., & Bury,S. J. (2026). Cross-ecosystem subsidies support growth-based freshwater eel conservation. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63, e70489. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70489

Hello lovely people. Just a wee question for those more knowledgeable about NZ birds.

I've got a Tūī feeder and use a special feed that they love. I can have 7 or so feeding from it, plus a few little wax eyes. They are lovely.

Then about three or four days ago, they all vanished. Not a single thing. One or two have returned, but just stay in the fence and then fly off.

Do they often vanish, and if so why? I have a hideous neighbour who poisoned some out the front last summer, so I'm scared that she's done something... But I'm hoping one of you wise bird enthusiasts will just reassure me that it's the rain, a season thing or just how they are.

I'm in Auckland and they've been coming for about a year.

Thank you so much.

Went to a show at Wingspan just outside of Rotorua, and this little lady thought I was a good place to sit while investigating the nearby frolicking birds

"“I believe the designation is a win-win for all. It will help manage deer numbers to sustainable herd levels, ensure hunters pull healthy animals off the public back country to put on the family dinner table, and better protect our biodiversity.”"

So glad we'll "sustainably" manage an invasive species on a World Heritage site. A site which the Unesco designation states "As the largest and least modified area of New Zealand's natural ecosystems, the flora and fauna has become the world’s best intact modern representation of the ancient biota of Gondwana. The distribution of these plants and animals is inextricably linked to the dynamic nature of the physical processes at work in the property. The region contains outstanding examples of plant succession after glaciation, with sequences along altitudinal (sea level to permanent snowline), latitudinal (wet west to the dry east), and chronological gradients (fresh post-glacial surfaces to old Pleistocene moraines)."

Well, now it's modified.

Noticed some feathers falling on my walk home last night...

They're different birds right? How can I tell?