Hamilton Tui

[Graham Saunders]

A Tui flew east to west over Ulster Street at the bend beside the driving range today (27/11/2010) at 12 .30 pm. It looks as though there is a gully there.

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Thanks for the sighting. There is a gully there, and we did counts in it over the past couple of weeks. I'm not sure if we picked up tui there. It is a good indicator they are attempting to breed in the area.
We did have tui in our counts at Hammond Park and a spot or two along the river. Every extra location at this time of year is of interest.

Thanks,
Neil.

[Steps]

How far do tui in urban areas go from their nesting/roosting sites?
We have a family that visit most days because of the purui and banskia trees. From direction the nearest urban bush is some 5km away and the nearest most likely some 10 to 12 km away. Yet we do observe their aerial acrobatics around mating time.

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Hey Steps,
We have radio tracked them from Hamilton to breeding areas in native forest 15-20 km away. In winter, some of our birds make daily trips from forest to urban areas and back to roost in forest, up to 15 km each way. Your birds could easily be coming from that most likely bit of bush.

Neil.

[Steps]

Sry to hyjack the thread.
Radio tracked? have you radio tracked kaka?
If so how far do these travel?
The white eyes fantails in our urban backyard I know they nest here..only find the nests when doing the bi annual tree trim.
Same with the trushs and black birds....
Its great...just wander around ...Im sure they can identify different people and even cats....they look up, see who or which cat, then totally ignore us....we can sit down 2 to 3 meters away and just watch them digging for grubs or having a bath... Our cat, thu a big hunter in her day, cant be bothered and the birds ignore her as they ignore us.
Plus having the avaries, and a house parrot (a king) that is out 24/7..like a cat or dog.. she simply co habits with them.
Supose being 17 yrs old helps to lol

Anyone want 20 or 30 big healthy, pure breed red crown kakariki, and or a dozen yellow crown, surplus to requirements...If not I will have to snip their heads off.

[Neil Fitzgerald]

I've not worked on kaka (although I'd loved to have tracked the kaka that visit this area each winter, before releases started at nearby sanctuary).
However, one that was banded in Little Barrier many years ago was re-sighted somewhere near Gisborn. That's a fair distance.

[Steps]

I have also wondered about how 'natural' or realistic tracking distances are for many species
Once apon a time, we had flocks of species that had their terroritory, and these areas would have had boundries...Something we see in our avaries on a smaller scale.
But in this day and age so many of our species are so thinly spread out, the flocks extrenely small, they basically have no terroritial boundries.
I sort of liken it to researching say diet patterns on a adaptable parrot species, but the enviroment is recovered bush that is still very young at 70 or 100 yrs old....the reseach is still extremely valuable....but one cant conclude that is their natural diet, but their adaptive diet.