Hamilton Tomtit

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rukuhia
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Hamilton Tomtit

Postby rukuhia » Sat Jun 09, 2018 5:14 pm

While planting native trees on the the farm with my daughter it was exciting to hear and then see a tomtit flying around us, which was a first for my farm. I would like to think it is a result of our tree planting programme and predator control. A Kereru also flew over.
Bob Rigter
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David Riddell
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Re: Hamilton Tomtit

Postby David Riddell » Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:03 am

That must've been really exciting Bob, where would the nearest likely tomtit habitat be, Pirongia? And how far away would that be?
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rukuhia
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Re: Hamilton Tomtit

Postby rukuhia » Sun Jun 10, 2018 11:07 am

Yes we are by the airport so it either came from Pirongia or Maungatautari both about 20kms away in a straight line. It was a male.
Bob Rigter
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David Riddell
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Re: Hamilton Tomtit

Postby David Riddell » Sun Jun 10, 2018 12:55 pm

I suppose Maungatautari is likeliest - it must be pumping the tomtits out these days. They were one of the first birds to really take off there, and it must be close to carrying capacity by now. Be great if that bird could find a mate and settle down.
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Michael
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Re: Hamilton Tomtit

Postby Michael » Tue Jun 12, 2018 10:11 am

At Taitua Arboretum, over on the other side of town, I thought I heard one. That would have been sometime last year. Maybe there is a little invasion going on right under our noses! Great record and sighting.
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Neil Fitzgerald
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Re: Hamilton Tomtit

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:49 pm

These are very cool observations. Tomtits do seem to be fairly mobile and can cross gaps (water, pasture) of perhaps 3 km, which seems to be more than many of our forest birds.
Bob, you must be about equal distance from Pirongia, Pukemako (previously Maungakawa SR/Sanatorium Hill), and Tirohanga Road (just north of Maungatautari), which all had tomtits in recent counts I did. All getting close to 20 km from you.

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