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May 2008
Sponsorship…
Firstly, a big thanks to Northpower for continuing to support the
Centre for another 12 months, which also means the continuation of
this column. I value the column and I find it is a great way to
share information and keep people informed about the ‘goings on’ at
the Centre.
We would also like to thank Pub Charity for their grant, which came
at a perfect time as we were without a freezer. Our old freezer
died, which meant we could not keep the bird food cold, but now we
have a nice new freezer. This is the type of support is what keeps
the Centre running. We always need help, so any donations are always
greatly appreciated.
Bird news…
The North Island kaka that we have is slowly getting better. People
have already asked to see him but at this stage we are caring for
him at home. We have chosen to do this because kaka can become
stressed if they find themselves in situations unusual to their
normal environment. In their natural habitat kaka can be very
mischievous and quite funny. But, if caught, a kaka can become
stressed. This can be detrimental to its health, causing loss of
appetite and in most cases death. Once we feel he is well enough, we
will bring him to the Centre for visitors to view. However, he won’t
stay at the Centre forever and I do look forward to the day when we
can return him to wild.
For some reason we are still getting quite a few morepork (most have
a sore wing or a sore eye). It takes about two weeks to get them
right and ready for release. It’s quite funny, when I handle a hawk
I don’t often use gloves but when it comes to a morepork “on go the
gloves”, because their talons are like needles. In saying that, if
you do find an injured hawk, please be careful and keep well clear
of their talons. The best way to handle a hawk is to throw a coat or
something over its head, that way you can fold the cover right
around the bird making it a lot safer to pick it up.
Speaking of hawks, last month we put a roof on the hawk pen to stop
our birds from climbing the sides and jumping over the top. It’s
been quite funny to watch the wild hawks land on the roof looking
for a way in. Heres an interesting fact…did you know that when a
hawk is hit by a car and remains injured on the road, other hawks
will take it food? That is fascinating and I don’t know of many
other birds that would carry out this act of camaraderie.
Parapara (the bird catching tree)
Yes, its parapara season again. Parapara is more commonly known as
the bird catching tree. It has sticky seed pods and while it is not
carnivorous, it is notorious for catching birds with its sticky
defence mechanism. Many plants have deterrent or trapping devices,
but don't eat what they catch including tomato, potato, and the
infamous parapara with its sticky seed pods. We received our first
lot of parapara victims the other day in the form of helpless little
silvereyes. Any little bird caught by the parapara is perceived as
easy prey for a nocturnal morepork on its evening food hunt.
However, the parapara is just as capable of catching a good sized
bird like a morepork (or a tui for that matter). Although the
parapara is not poisonous a bird will try to escape its captor and
often injure itself in the process. While it is a native, it should
not be planted. It is such a sad way for a bird to die.
Cat tip (not nip)…Every now and then we get a call from cat
owners about these sticky seed pods stuck to their beloved cats. To
remove these sticky things we use a product called De-Solv-It. We
had just about run out of it when we found out that Payless Plastics
sold it. It is well worth getting a bottle. You would be amazed just
what it will shift. It has a natural Citrus Base and will not burn
the animal’s skin, and as an added bonus, they end up smelling like
an orange.
Robert & Robyn Webb |
Other Issues:
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006 |
