Birds

Birds of New Zealand
About a year ago a friend and I volunteered to do a regular bird count in our local park. Initially we were accompanied by an expert bird watcher, but lately we have been on our own. Once a month at (or near) dawn we walk through the park, which encompasses open meadows with exotic trees, up tracks through regenerating native bush, to a golf course in which there is a small pond. We then skirt around the margins of the bush on the golf course before plunging back onto a track leading eventually through an avenue of pohutukawas, past tennis courts and back onto the road through the park. Many private properties back onto the park, and so we are counting birds we see and hear ( the varieties and the numbers of each) both within the park and on the neighbouring properties. The bird life changes over the course of a year. When we started a year ago we could hear shining cuckoos, which overwinter in the Islands, and we are now waiting to hear our first shining cuckoo this year. So far we have sighted or heard 26 different types of bird, mostly introduced, but we are hoping as we clear out the exotic weeds in the park and the native plants with berries for food become established, more native birds will be attracted to the area. We hope that our bird count will provide valuable information about bird populations over the years.