Volunteering at Zealandia
If you read my blogs you’ll know I talk a lot about the birds at Zealandia Ecosanctuary, but for a change I thought I’d write a post about my experiences volunteering there. I don’t talk about it much, but my visits to Zealandia have purpose, I don’t just go to take photos of birds, I go to monitor the smallest birds in New Zealand, the utterly adorable tītipounamu, or rifleman. I first started volunteering in 2019, when the tītipounamu were translocated to the sanctuary. I was very excited about having tītipounamu/rifleman close to home, as I used to make the trip to Butterfly Creek in Eastbourne to see the tiny birds. I went along to the official release, when the tītipounamu were carefully carried into the sanctuary, and watched the little birds disappear into the bush. I was determined for that not to be the last time I see them, and spent the next few visits searching high and low for them. I started making it my mission to find the tītipounamu, and started having some luck finding them, the Zealandia rangers soon noticed and asked if I’d help the survey team by reporting back with my sightings.
I was really excited about helping out, and as I started to see the same birds more and more regularly in the same spots I felt like I was getting to know them. Up until then I’d been visiting to Zealandia just to spend time in nature, and take photos of any birds I came across. Surveying the tītipounamu really changed the way I thought about visiting, instead of just going to take photos I was going to try find specific birds, and to identify new birds that hadn’t been seen before.
The way each bird is identified is by their leg band combination. Prior to being brought to the sanctuary, each bird was fitted with it’s own unique set of coloured bands, they are vital to track the survival and dispersal of individual birds, and essentially to determine the health of the population. After the translocation the birds began to establish their territories, and lucky for us a lot of them decided to stick around the most accessible area of the sanctuary. I’ll admit that at first I was really trying to see them to get photos of the tiny birds, but my priorities changed from trying to get photos, to trying to get evidence of their bands so I could record which birds I had found. Only once I have identified the individual birds that I’ve found, do I try to get good photos of them, and getting nice photos of the birds comes second to identifying the birds.
Since I started volunteering at Zealandia I have spent many many hours following tiny birds around the sanctuary. They are incredibly hard to find, they are tiny and only make quiet, high pitched calls. But finding these birds has become addictive and every visit I hope to learn more or discover something interesting about them. Visiting Zealandia is always the highlight of my week and I have the best days when I get to see lots of tītipounamu.
People often ask me how I’m able to spend so much time at Zealandia, and the answer is that I prioritise it. Being self-employed means I can plan my work around the weather, I know this is a luxury and I am so lucky to be able to do it. I always keep an eye on the weather, and if a sunny and calm day comes up I can take the opportunity to go birdwatching. Since I don’t have set working hours, I sometimes work well into the evening, and I don’t take days off for a proper weekend. I think this is mostly because I love what I do, and although the admin side of things takes over sometimes, I mostly get to make fun products with birds on them. From day to day my work changes greatly, some days I’ll be illustrating, other days I’ll be looking through my photos for the perfect reference photo for an illustration. Sometimes I even spend whole days writing blog posts, emailing and doing general admin. Being flexible means I can make the most of opportunities as they come up, and if exciting things are happening in the sanctuary I can get there without hesitation.
The tītipounamu breeding season last year was especially exciting, as I’d never seen freshly fledged tītipounamu chicks before. I was lucky enough to be invited to watch the tiny chicks being given their leg bands, which is something I’ll never forget. The Zealandia staff who banded the chicks have years of experience, and the way they approached the banding was so well thought out and precise. From ensuring the chicks were fed just prior to being banded, to making sure they were kept warm while out of the nest, it was all to ensure the welfare of the parents and chicks and cause as minimal stress to the birds as possible.
The chicks from the 2019/2020 breeding season were fitted with white and metal bands, all on their right legs. This is different from the founding population which were all given orange and metal bands. Not all the chicks were able to be banded though so there still may be some un-banded chicks in the valley.
Tītipounamu chicks are utterly adorable, and I was lucky enough to see these three chicks perching together on a branch (photo above). This photo was used in Zealandia’s givealittle campaign (while covid-19 induced lockdown forced them to close their doors to visitors and put a halt to all income). Tītipounamu chicks are tiny, but quite loud, and when the parents and chicks are darting around the sanctuary is by far the easiest time of year to hear and see them. Most other times of the year tītipounamu are very hard to find, they do make constant contact calls, but they are quiet and are out of hearing range of a lot of people. I’m so lucky that I have good hearing and I can hear the calls clearly, I’m absolutely dreading the day when I can’t hear them anymore!
I’ve learned a lot about their calls, they actually have quite a large range. While foraging in pairs the birds make constant contact calls to each other, these calls are soft and friendly, buy they also make alarm calls, which are fast and frequent. I’ve also learned about their behaviours, females are more confiding and therefore more easily seen than males, and the females seem to lead the way when foraging. I enjoy writing up reports about what behaviour I’ve seen in each bird and communicating this to the Zealandia rangers, who are always grateful to hear what behaviours the little birds are showing. The rangers don’t have the time to be able to dedicate whole days just looking for tītipounamu, so if I can find a pair that hasn’t been seen in months, then I’m helping them know those particular birds are still alive and healthy.
This past Friday, I attended the annual Zealandia Volunteer Awards, and I was presented with a kākā award! I actually didn’t know these awards existed and definitely didn’t expect to get one. To be recognised for my contribution to Zealandia was really humbling, and quite heart warming. Sitting in a room full of volunteers was really special, it really made me feel like I’m part of a bigger picture, a whole team of people dedicating their time to the sanctuary and wildlife within. I really felt the gratitude expressed from the Zealandia staff and CEO Paul Atkins, who always goes out of his way to make me feel like I’m part of the team.
