Hey have a look at this little guy!  We don't have him here at Nga Manu but I know you've been talking about camouflage so thought  he would be worth having a look at.

This is a leaf gecko found in Madagascar.  He would be pretty hard to spot in the leaves.  His tail is particularly interesting!

Hi everyone!
Was so lovely to see you all on Friday.  I hope you all had a good time!
You can ask me questions and I will try my best to answer them.

Hey guess who we had visit us at Nga Manu today?
TVNZ came to film the eels. Check it out on the news tonight.

Cameraman and journalist talking to Dave, Manager of Nga Manu.

Camera on end of pole.

Giraffe Birth at the Memphis Zoo

Yucky bugs

Hi Te Waha rua
Only one more sleep until your visit to Nga Manu.
I am so disappointed I won't be here to see you all.
I am in Wellington with the Royal Society of New Zealand doing science stuff!
Here are a few of my animal friends at Nga Manu that I saw today.

The Canada Goose, Gander and two of their goslings.

Jimmy - a friendly Kea.

Two Kereru.

 A stunning Kaka.  Watch for this beautiful coloured feathers under his wings.

This is Steve one of the Tuatara outside the nocturnal house.  He is 30 years old.

Tuatara hatching at Victoria University of Wellington

Tuna / Eels

Kia Ora Koutou!
Scientists use special tools to help them with their research.
This is a water current meter used to measure the velocity or speed of the water current.

You place the impellar in the water.  There is a tiny magnet inside which gets recorded everytime the impellor makes one complete circle or revolution. The NZ Standard is to time it for 40 seconds.  So you get a reading which tells you how many revs in 40 seconds.  If the flow is too slow the impellar doesn't spin so you have to resort to other ways of testing the water flow which is what happened to me at Nga Manu.  I use a float test method which is lots of fun!  We can do it next year in our school stream!













The stream bed was covered with tree roots and tree litter which was blocking the water flow so we had to dig out the roots and clear away the dead fern leaves and branches that had fallen in the stream.  Then we put in a 3meter by 1 meter frame and put sand bags at the sides to try to contain all the water.

  I fell in the stream!  I had a very wet bottom and my gumboots were full of muddy water! Yuck!

Scientists feel wonderment and awe!
Did you know the Puriri moth caterpillar lives for 6 years inside a tree?
When it hatches out it lives as a moth for only 2 days!
I am so glad I am not a puriri moth.
At Nga Manu you will see this tree.
The holes on the tree trunk are made by the caterpilar.  While the caterpillar is inside the tree the holes are covered by a silky covering to camouflage the opening.
Many trees have a short life due to the puriri moth holes.
The maori name for this tree is Puta puta weta, because after the moth has hatched out the weta's live in the holes.

The Puriri Moth

Bird Recovery

Nga Manu Nature Reserve

Nga Manu Nature Reserve

Close Up: Perky The Pukeko

Canada Geese Goslings

Scientists observe by using all their senses.
Here are some interesting things you will see at Nga Manu if you look carefully.

This in not a stone!!!!
It is actually a tree root.It helps the tree absorb oxygen which is deficient in the water logged soil of the swamp forest.

This Nikau Palm tree is endemic.
You can tell how old it is by counting the rings which have been made by the shedding of a leaf each year.

You will see lots of  ferns that are epiphytes.
They grow on other plants called host plants.

Can you see the roots of the epiphyte plant?

Hey Te Waharua!  I am looking forward to seeing you all at Nga Manu soon!
Here is a sneek preview of what you will see.

 Scientists discover that the animal kingdom can be cruel.  This photo shows the black swans with their cygnets (babies).  Unfortunately 3 did not survive.  They got eaten by the Pukeko despite the parents being very protective and hiding them in the flax bushes.

The little ducklling straying behind had a broken foot and had to be put down. The mallard duck seen in this photo is not a native duck.

New Zealand Paradise Duck Family

Some Scientists work with animals.

This adorable Paradise duckling is an orphan. It has lost it's family.  The staff at Nga Manu are looking after it.  It is in a glass box.  It has a light that it sleeps under to keep it warm.  The Paradise duck in endemic to New Zealand.

That means it is only found in NZ.  Do you know other animals that are endemic? By the way, endemic is not the same as native. Native animals can be found in other countries.

Scientists sometimes use very expensive high tech equipment.
This is an Acoustic Doplic Current Profiler which cost $50,000. It is used by hydrologists at NIWA to measure the flow and depth of rivers.  This one was used at Otaki river.  It is capable of taking millions of recordings.  It looks like a bath toy!

The information recevied by the ADCP connects straight to the laptop. Easy! Yahoo for technology!!!

Hey boys and girls at Waikanae School, can anyone tell me where and what this is?

In the centre right of the photo there is a pipe. It has been cut off. How far did it use to go and what was it used for?
Thought you might like to see the Nga Manu resident tuatara.  He came out of hibernation to visit a group of Japanese college students.

Scientists use special instruments.
What do you think I use this for?
Does it look like something you have seen before?

How To Be A Scientist - SciTunes #10

Scientists have fun!
These eels know when it is feeding time.
They were putting their heads right out of the water as if to say "Feed me!"
I wonder what eels eat? The maori name for eel is tuna which is not to be mistaken for the fish, tuna.

Science has a special language.
Here is a photo of the green flowered mistletoe which is it's common name.  It's scientific name or botanical name is  ileostylus micranthus.  This is a photo or what it looks like when it is well established on a host plant.

ileostylus micranthus is the botanical name or the science name

Scientists ask questions.
What do you think is inside the berries?

How did the green flowered mistletoe get its common name?
You guessed it!  Because it has green flowers and here they are.

Scientists measure things and record their data.
Here I am measuring the length of some stems of the green flowered native mistletoe and taking the soil temperature.
One of my projects at Nga Manu is to gather information to help decide if the mistletoe grows better on host plants with wet or dry feet.
The mistletoe is a parasitic plant. Do you know what that means?

House Hippo

Hey kids
Don't believe everthing you see on TV!
Scientists ask questions!

Kia ora tatou! Welcome to my blog!  My project for the Royal Society of New Zealand Primary Science Teacher Fellowship is to measure the waterflow in and out of Nga Manu, to monitor the water levels of the ponds and measure rainfall.  I will also be testing and monitoring the moisture of the soil to discover if the native mistletoe grows better in dry or wet soil and measuring the sound levels.