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.