Native birds of Franz Josef
Since 2004 we, Julie and Jonathan from Ribbonwood Retreat have been sharing our passion for birding with our guests here in Franz Josef, Glacier Country.
Kea, I photographed in the carpark, Franz Josef Glacier Valley Walks
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Bellbird, songster who lives in our garden during winter and spring
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This is a mecca for birds with the iconic rowi or Okarito brown kiwi only found here. With a combination of wetlands, coastal forest, farmland and alpine forest all within a short distance, there are numerous other native bird species to be seen.
Planting bird attracting tree species is a great way to encourage birds to linger in the backyard.
We have many self-seeded native fuchsias (Fuchsia excorticata) growing in our garden. One of the few native deciduous trees, fuchsias prolific flowers attract bellbirds and tui to the garden in early spring. This winter we put up a sugar water feeder in a fuchsia. After waiting with anticipation for a long time, at last a tui started feeding there! The tui would come to the dining room window to remind us when it was empty. Now we have bird song from dawn to dusk, starting with bellbirds at first light then tui all day long.
Kereru begin to arrive in later spring, feeding on the new foliage of kowhai and ribbonwood. They hang almost upside down on the slimmest of branches to get the succulent new growth, occasionally breaking the branch. Our kowhai now has an umbrella shaped form, due to the attention of kereru.
When we first planted the property in 2002 with native trees, all our fuchsia succumbed to frost and died. However, we were delighted that fuchsia seed dropped by birds survived as they were protected from frost under established trees. Once they get over two metres in height, they seem resilient to frost damage, so we prune away the other trees to allow them to spread out.
Another tree species that we have planted and are used by tui and bellbird is Banksia integrifolia, which provides nectar even earlier in the season than fuchsia. The nectar feeding birds even visit a daphne bush that is in the flower in the garden. early summer our flax (Phormium tenax) will flower, providing another source of nectar. Once this finished, most of the birds will abandon us and head to the nearby native forest where other plants have come into flower.
It seems that Jonathan's career has come the full circle. As a former Department of Conservation Kiwi Programme Manager, with his background knowledge of large scale stoat trapping, conducting predator trapping on our property comes as second nature. Last year we caught five stoats and one possum. Wider afield Julie enjoys participating in Project Early Bird, a community trapping initiative to protect birds and invertebrates at Lake Matheson run by Cliff and Tash from Glacier Valley Eco Tours.
At Ribbonwood, we are working hard to echo the magnificent forest of Westland Tai Poutini National Park which lies just beyond the property. Digging, planting holes and yanking out weeds, we find the mahi is inspiring. There is a sense of achievement that comes as the bird life grows each year in the garden. Best of all we get to promote our nature, history and spectacular scenery in Glacier Country with people from New Zealand and all over the world.
Planting bird attracting tree species is a great way to encourage birds to linger in the backyard.
We have many self-seeded native fuchsias (Fuchsia excorticata) growing in our garden. One of the few native deciduous trees, fuchsias prolific flowers attract bellbirds and tui to the garden in early spring. This winter we put up a sugar water feeder in a fuchsia. After waiting with anticipation for a long time, at last a tui started feeding there! The tui would come to the dining room window to remind us when it was empty. Now we have bird song from dawn to dusk, starting with bellbirds at first light then tui all day long.
Kereru begin to arrive in later spring, feeding on the new foliage of kowhai and ribbonwood. They hang almost upside down on the slimmest of branches to get the succulent new growth, occasionally breaking the branch. Our kowhai now has an umbrella shaped form, due to the attention of kereru.
When we first planted the property in 2002 with native trees, all our fuchsia succumbed to frost and died. However, we were delighted that fuchsia seed dropped by birds survived as they were protected from frost under established trees. Once they get over two metres in height, they seem resilient to frost damage, so we prune away the other trees to allow them to spread out.
Another tree species that we have planted and are used by tui and bellbird is Banksia integrifolia, which provides nectar even earlier in the season than fuchsia. The nectar feeding birds even visit a daphne bush that is in the flower in the garden. early summer our flax (Phormium tenax) will flower, providing another source of nectar. Once this finished, most of the birds will abandon us and head to the nearby native forest where other plants have come into flower.
It seems that Jonathan's career has come the full circle. As a former Department of Conservation Kiwi Programme Manager, with his background knowledge of large scale stoat trapping, conducting predator trapping on our property comes as second nature. Last year we caught five stoats and one possum. Wider afield Julie enjoys participating in Project Early Bird, a community trapping initiative to protect birds and invertebrates at Lake Matheson run by Cliff and Tash from Glacier Valley Eco Tours.
At Ribbonwood, we are working hard to echo the magnificent forest of Westland Tai Poutini National Park which lies just beyond the property. Digging, planting holes and yanking out weeds, we find the mahi is inspiring. There is a sense of achievement that comes as the bird life grows each year in the garden. Best of all we get to promote our nature, history and spectacular scenery in Glacier Country with people from New Zealand and all over the world.
