Be on the look-out for some over-sized kākāpō heading your way. Since the International Day of Biodiversity last May, DOC’s two steel-mesh kākāpō have been travelling around gathering conservation messages from people all over New Zealand. That’s a good thing since they were both looking a little down on their luck until their feather messages started appearing. Now they are sporting plumage that any kākāpō would be proud of.
Kids at Miramar North School recently had a special visitor. Photo courtesy Citylife Newspapers.
I’m pretty stoked on the messages that are being put on the two kākāpō too. My favourite so far is “kiss a kākāpō”, but don’t worry people are looking out for all us native plants and animals…like the person who wrote “native bats need protection too”.
During Conservation Week all those special feathers are going to be collected by my friends at DOC and then sent to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan so that world leaders can hear how Kiwi feel about their environment.
Check out Words on a Wing to learn how you can have your say whether one of the over-sized green kākāpō comes to your town or not. DOC staff have been getting messages from people all over the country and they’re putting every one of those feathers on the two kākāpō.
What’s in a name?
A lot if you’re a big kākāpō. So, if you’re in Wellington in the next couple of weeks go visit one of the kākāpō at Te Papa’s Nature Space. Add a feather message and enter the kākāpō naming competition to help the poor bugger get a proper name.
Some pretty cool bird experts like my mate Deidre from DOC’s kākāpō recovery programme will be choosing the winner of the naming competition. The competition winner receives an annual pass for them and their family to ZEALANDIA. Not only that, but I’ll be announcing the winning name!
Eden! what a fantastic suggestion.
I am sure there will be connection between insecticides and bee behaviour – some people also include the old cellphone towers in this matter…
What about Varroa mite and diseases… and the lack of good pollen and nectar bearing flowers in today’s boring “structural” gardens?
If you put it all together, no wonder we now have a “bee disease” they call COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER. All these environmental effect really start to bother the bees – you are thinking along the same lines that I do!
Ruud
Hello my name is Eden. I was wondering if bees are getting affected by insecticides and if they can not dance properly, how will they survive?