FanTail

Known for its friendly ‘cheet cheet' call and energetic flying antics, the aptly named fantail is one of the most common and widely distributed native birds on the New Zealand mainland.

It is easily recognized by its long tail which opens to a fan. It has a small head and bill and has two colour forms, pied and melanistic or black. The pied birds are grey-brown with white and black bands.

White Heron

The kotuku is common in Australia, the South Pacific and Asia, but in New Zealand, it only breeds near Whataroa, South Westland, between September and January.

This colony is in the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve and guided jet boat tours take visitors to view the birds from an observation hide. During this time, the birds feed in the large coastal lagoons in the area, particularly the nearby Okarito Lagoon. After breeding, the birds disperse widely and may be seen at coastal freshwater wetlands or estuaries throughout the country.

New Zealand's native pigeon, also known as kereru, kuku and kukupa, is the only disperser of large fruits, such as those of karaka and taraire, we have. The disappearance of the kereru would be a disaster for the regeneration of our native forests.

The kereru is a large bird with irridescent green and bronze feathers on its head and a smart white vest. The noisy beat of its wings is a distinctive sound in our forests. The pigeon is found in most lowland native forests of the North, South and Stewart islands and many of their neighbouring islands.

The Pukeko, or New Zealand Swamp Hen is a member of the rail family and is similar to other species found all over the world. It is one of the few New Zealand native birds to have flourished since the arrival of man, and can be found in allmost any grassland area, especially in swampy locations. Groups will often be seen foraging for food in road-side locations.

Red Tussock This magnificent flowing red grass was once very common throughout Southland.  It would have been a familiar sight on the Southland plains and hill country. As a garden plant red tussock looks magnificent when mass planted or when creating wetlands it is in its ideal habitat.  It is one of the largest grasses in cultivation growing to a metre high

Ake Ake

One of the easiest native plants to grow from seed .  Ake ake forms a spreading tree up to about 4 metres high.

Cabbage Tree:The fruit attract many important, seed-dispersing, native birds such as the Tui, wood pigeon and bellbird, now joined by the blackbird, starling and the sparrow. They digest the fleshy part of the fruit. The cabbage tree is present naturally only in New Zealand

Kahikatea:Most plants on earth are hermaphrodites – they bear both male and female flowers. But the kahikatea, like most New Zealand conifers, has separate female (top) and male (bottom) plants. Many other New Zealand plant species also have male and female flowers on separate plants, which is unusual. One advantage is that female plants will out-cross to separate male plants, avoiding self pollination

Pittosporum:Pittosporum patulum is a small tree that grows up to six metres high, in sub-alpine scrub and mountain beech forest in the South Island. The most striking aspect of its appearance is the deep red, fragrant flowers that appear in springtime.

Unfortunately, little is known about the ecology of this species. However the population has definitely declined to the extent that it is classified as nationally endangered.

Miro:Miro is a tall, round-headed tree reaching 25–30 m with a trunk up to 1 m
wide. The bark is greyish-brown to dark brown and falls off in thick flakes.
The pretty dark green leaves are 15–25 mm long. Miro produces reddish-purple fruits, consisting of a fleshy drupe-like fruit containing a hard, woody seed. There is a bushmans' tale that the seeds will only germinate once they have passed through the gut of a pigeon, however this has been proven not to be the case.

Manuka:New Zealand's geographic isolation for two hundred million years has yielded a large number of native plants that are not found anywhere else in the world. Some of these native New Zealand plants have strong medicinal properties and although identified and appreciated by the early settlers they have only recently been fully understood through scientific study. One of the most important plants in this group is the outstanding Manuka plant.

Matai:Matai is a forest tree reaching 25–30 m and with a trunk up to
1.25 m in diameter.

Matai is dioecious,
producing succulent, black drupe-like fruit with a waxy bloom, looking
like a very small plum, enclosing a hard nut 10 mm across.

Rata:Rata trees, along with the pohutukawa, are one of the best known native trees in New Zealand. The rata and pohutukawa belong in the myrtle family of trees. Other members of this family include manuka, kanuka and swamp maire. The trees tend to flower well only once every few years and seem to favour the high rainfall conditions of the West Coast. Native birds such as the tui, bellbird and kaka all benefit from the presence of rata trees.

Punga:On the Punga Tree, the fronds are held at the top of the plant in a spreading manner.  They form by uncurling from the crown in the center, which is at the top of the trunk.  The Punga tree is the most photographed tree in New Zealand

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