{"id":4255,"date":"2024-02-29T21:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T08:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=4255"},"modified":"2024-03-01T22:23:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T09:23:41","slug":"the-early-bird-catches-the-worm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/29\/the-early-bird-catches-the-worm\/","title":{"rendered":"The Early Bird Catches The Worm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Birdwatching at Orokonui Ecosanctuary<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Happy Leap Day! To celebrate the occasion, we enjoyed another bird encounter and got up close with a lot of native NZ birds we haven\u2019t seen yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Department of Conservation, a.k.a. \u201cDOC,\u201d NZ is known as the seabird capital of the world and is also home to a number of forest birds that live nowhere else on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our 10 a.m. tour at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary<\/a> was nice and small, just us and one other person. Taylor was our awesome guide, a botanist who also loves birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Taylor showing us the native Silver Fern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The Ecosanctuary is a 900-acre not-for-profit conservation project with 100% of the revenue used to protect and manage the Ecosanctuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Perimeter fence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double gate access keeps out rodents.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Visitor Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Orokonui is a M\u0101ori word meaning \u201ca peaceful phase of the moon.\u201dPeaceful is definitely the word I would use to describe where we were today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a fence around the sanctuary to keep predators out. Rats, possums and ferrets are the main predators to the birds. The birds are completely free to fly in and out of the sanctuary. However, those that stay predominantly inside tend to have a longer lifespan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The huge land mass that comprises the sanctuary and the surrounding hills was created by two volcanos millions of years ago. The sanctuary sits atop these forest covered mountains creating a rich habitat for bird life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet the Takah\u0113<\/a>. These birds are flightless and were the first we came across on our tour. There are 600 in the world and the sanctuary hosts a friendly family of 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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