• /
    • Archives /
  • 30/11/1999

Archives For 30/11/1999

Photo of the week: Blue Pools fern

Department of Conservation —  14/05/2014

Today’s photo of the week is of a native fern growing next to the Blue Pools on the West Coast of the South Island.

New Zealand is home to about 200 fern species, ranging from ten-metre-high tree ferns, to filmy ferns just 20 millimetres long. About 40% of these species occur nowhere else in the world.

Native fern growing by blue pools. Photo by Daniel Pietzsch | CC BY-NC 2.0.

Te Papa Museum is holding an online Science Live event this Friday (16 May) which will take viewers into the secret world of New Zealand’s ferns.

Botany curator, Leon Perrie, will be there to talk about our native fern species. Leon will also be answering questions during the live broadcast.

The event will be streaming live from 2—2:30 pm on the Te Papa YouTube channel.

Photo by Daniel Pietzsch | CC BY-NC 2.0

In Native plants, Photo of the week, West Coast , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Photo of the week: Native butterfly

Department of Conservation —  22/01/2014

Today’s photo of the week is a boulder copper butterfly — one of the many endemic species of butterfly found in New Zealand.

Boulder copper butterfly. Photo: Jon Sullivan (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Boulder copper butterflies can be found throughout the South Island and in central areas of the North Island, but are more commonly encountered in the upland areas like the Southern Alps and the central plateau.

This beauty was photographed in Canterbury’s Craigieburn Forest Park by Jon Sullivan | CC BY-NC 2.0

In Photo of the week , , , , ,
permalink

Photo of the week: Happy New Year

Department of Conservation —  01/01/2014

Happy New Year! Welcome to our very first photo of the week for the year.

Did you welcome in 2014 with fireworks? We missed the pyrotechnic displays but have taken some inspiration from the flowering tī kōuka/cabbage tree which we think are the botanical equivalents of an exploding fireball lighting up the sky.

Ti kouka / cabbage tree in flower. Photo: Jon Sullivan.

Tī kōuka are one of the most distinctive trees in the New Zealand landscape, especially on farms. They grow all over the country, but prefer wet, open areas like swamps.

This photo was taken by Jon Sullivan | CC BY-NC 2.0

In Photo of the week , , , , , , ,
permalink

Photo of the week: Hihi/stitchbird

Department of Conservation —  27/11/2013

Today’s photo of the week is of a male hihi/stitchbird on Tiritiri Matangi Island near Auckland.

Hihi/stitchbird on Tiritiri Matangi. Photo: J. Graham | flickr | Creative Commons license.

Last week the Hihi/Stitchbird Recovery Group won a prestigious Australasian conservation award in recognition of their efforts to protect this rare native bird.

The Practitioner Award was awarded to the group by the Australasian Wildlife Management Society (AWMS) at their annual conference.

“New Zealanders should be very proud of the hihi conservation success story,” said the elated Dr John Ewen, co-leader of the Hihi Recovery Group.

This photo was taken by J. Graham | CC BY-NC 2.0

In Photo of the week , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Photo of the week: Takahē at Tiritiri Matangi

Department of Conservation —  06/11/2013

Today’s photo of the week is of a curious takahē making new friends during a sunny day at the beach.

This photo was taken by Peter Harrison at Tiritiri Matangi Island, a wildlife sanctuary and one of the most important conservation projects in the Auckland region.

Takahe at the beach on Tiritiri Matangi. Photo: Peter Harrison/flickr.

November marks the 65th anniversary of the rediscovery of the takahē in 1948. Previously takahē were assumed extinct but were rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains.

To celebrate this anniversary November has been chosen as Mitre 10 Takahē Rescue Month. To find out more about the planned celebrations visit the Mitre 10 Takahe Rescue Facebook page.

Related links:

In Native animals, Photo of the week , , , , , ,
permalink