What's your local wildlife?

Kirstie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

What's your local wildlife?

Local wildlife.png

 

Hi all,

 

Following on from our popular Meet the pets thread I thought it would be interesting to hear about the wildlife that you have in your area. We all live in such a variety of countries and habitats across the world - I'm sure there's a real range of local birds and animals to discuss! I've noticed various local creatures mentioned around the CC (@Robin4's possums are famous!) but it would be great to collect them in one place :).

 

What wildlife ventures into your garden or local parks? Are they welcome visitors or more of an annoyance? Do any of your guests come to your area specifically to see local wildlife?

 

Here in London there's more wildlife than you might expect - pigeons and squirrels are probably our most numerous but we also have several city foxes that creep out at night. There's one that lives near me - it's quite exciting to spot it in the shadows! We also have a surprising number of wild parakeets which you can spot in some of the parks - apparently a few escaped from aviaries in the 1960s and started breeding!

 

If sharing photos that aren't your own, please make sure to include the source - as this is a public forum we need to ensure all sources are credited!

 

I look forward to hearing about your local fauna!

 

Kirstie

46 Replies 46

@Kirstie they are impressive IMO. When I travel I keep an eye out for them in the trees. I almost always see three or four. They aren't as large as the eagle, but there aren't many eagles in my area. 

---> That's how I look at most guests, like cousins. And you know, some of those cousins are kooks.
Kirstie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

It sounds like there are quite a few of them if you manage to see so many in the trees! I always find it special to spot a big bird of prey either flying or perched in a tree - we don't have many in the UK!

Hilary-And-Ed0
Level 10
Brookline, MA

I've seen those London foxes!

 

I live in a town neighboring Boston, and while for the most part we see lots of typical city creatures, at this time of year, our street is full of cardinals and blue jays - beautiful.  But the most unexpected sight for most visitors is the large numbers of gigantic turkeys roaming around our town.  They are about a meter tall, the males fan out their tails dramatically, and they mill about in packs of 15-20.

Kirstie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

We've seen some photos of cardinals and bluejays earlier in the thread - they are both such stunning colours, you're lucky if you have some that are local!

 

I'm sure that tourists would be surprised to see giant turkeys roaming around a town! I hadn't really realised that wild turkeys existed - they must be quite a sight in their big groups!

 

Kirstie

Aogán0
Level 7
London, United Kingdom

My girlfriend woke up in our home this morning to see this surprise visitor wander into the garden, and start munching away on some of our flowers. Needless to say she was over the moon! I hope our guests get surprise visits too 🙂

 

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Em4
Level 10
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

@Kirstie

on farm of course we have jersey cows, young stock and bulls. at Hukawai Lodge we have cayuga ducks (flightless with metallic green feathers laying blue eggs), birman cats (very cute), araucana chickens (lavender coloured, laying blue eggs), flemish giant rabbits. and more poultry, angora goats, gotland sheep and other animals coming.

 

 

like everyone who lives in the country we have a lot of wild life. there is always a couple or three kea on farm - they are the only alpine parrot in the world and one of the most intelligent birds. they're also endangered. tui is a beautiful bird with an even more beautiful song sheet. they can also imitate humans and noises they might hear in the bush such as a chainsaw. i have never seen a pic on the net that picks up the birds beauty. kaka are large parrots also endangered. whereas the kea population is something between 3-7000, kaka number about 600. ruru (native morepork) are nocturnal and very shy, but at night you can hear them especially in spring and they come out of the bush to the farm in search of prey. its absolutely magic to catch one in your headlights. keruru are large wood pigeons. they have the most awesome flying sound. in late spring they are so fat you can find them on the ground grazing in flocks of around 10+. A group of about 10 return to Hukawai Lodge every spring. The NZ falcon is endangered and its pretty rare now to see them flying around this area. By comparison the hawk is a common sight. They will land on fence posts and cruise around the small animals much to their disgust.

 


the kotuku (white heron) although not native, live nearby in the only breeding colony and sanctuary in NZ. you don't tend to see them so much around Hukawai Lodge but they are on farm searching for food. they like ducklings and elvers. pukeko (swamp hens) are a typical NZ native blue. like ducks they graze pastures. they nest share and creche rear. the largest nest i've found contained 20 eggs. paradise ducks also not native, pair for a lifetime and we have a couple who believe themselves to be permanent residents. every spring the 2x pairs of oyster catchers return, the pieds and the variables. they fight over the territory at the pond which has a large area of gravel which next week will disappear. so i guess they will fight over the parking lot at the back of Hukawai Lodge. no one here likes plovers. they are crazy. there used to be a couple of australian magpies about 10 years ago. now there is a flock of +20. they are aggressive and dominating and their calls sound alien here.

 


its unlikely you could see a kiwi at Hukawai Lodge. but at the bottom of the farm at the foothills you can hear the one Rowi who found its way out of Okarito forest. Rowi are endangered with a population of under 600. they are gathered up as eggs, incubated and grown in Franz Josef, transferred to a predator free island in the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island and returned and released in Okarito forest once they are minimum 1kg weight. the rowi baby is extremely beautiful. their feathers are softer than anything i know.

 

 

the smaller native birds are fantails which are always fascinating. they have little fat fluffy bodies, either brown or more rarely black. as they fly they are always fighting against falling. bellbirds are plain brown birds with a wonderful song that can sometimes be mistaken for tui.

 

 

deer come down out of the mountains on to farm. its only usual to see them if you're working on farm in the paddocks close to the bush. some times especially young males will venture into the interior of the farm. we quite enjoy venison. also coming out of the mountains to graze the sweet pastures of farm land is a mob of about 20 chamois.

 

 

in all the creeks, which look like rivers to people who tend to come from less rainfall geographical areas, you can find trout and salmon. at the bottom of the farm close to Lake Mapourika across the road from Hukawai Lodge is a breeding area used by trout. salmon swim further into the farm before breeding.

 

 

🙂

Em

Hukawai Lodge

Franz Josef, NZ

https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/15418840

Kirstie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Em4,

 

Wow it sounds like you have an incredible selection of wildlife around you! Thank you for describing them in such detail, I can imagine the colours and the sounds of the birds :). 

 

Do your guests enjoy seeing all of the wildlife? Do they come to your listing especially for that? Which birds are your favourite?

 

Happy Hosting!

 

Kirstie

Em4
Level 10
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

@Kirstie  thank you.  once i make my listing available it usually highlights the bush, lake, mountains, farm.  Hukawai Lodge is only open for 3 months of the year but my holiday homes will be open for about 8 months.  i opened for the first time last december to get a feel for it.  now i have opened i will remain so at this stage.

 

i think people are attracted more by the building and its setting.  another reason people stay is because they don't realise this area has fewer beds than tourists.  but once they make their reservation and they engage in the concierge service i provide before their arrival, they tend to feel confident. 

 

when they arrive, guests tend to fall into two camps.  those who generally have cats or would love a pet of their own, love the kittens.  so much so i have to make sure guests don't bring the kittens inside.  this is because pets are greedy.  for everything, especially love.  this can annoy others.  it is also because some people are allergic to animals.  the smaller animals form the 'petting' part of the farm tour.  people love the little animals, especially if they live lives that don't permit pets.

 

also, this is a stop on a tour of NZ, so people know what they're going to be doing or atleast have some idea before they arrive.  i will also have provided information and made activity bookings on their behalf, especially helicopter flights during the time between reservation and arrival.  so generally guests are out and about early to late whch can include eating out for dinner.  consequently there isn't much time for them to notice the wildlife, although the frogs are pretty active at night.

 

my favourite bird is the kakapo.  we take donations from guests and make available specific products like soap, handmade paper and cakes for sale, the money of which we donate to the kakapo recovery program.  there are +-130 living birds.  like most of NZ birds they are flightless, an evolution from millions of years ago when gondwanaland separated from the rest of the continents or not long after that time.  consequently there were no mammals until humans arrived, followed by european settlement.  kakapo is possibly the oldest living bird.  they are nocturnal and smell sweet like honey, they are the largest parrots in the world.  they live on predator free islands south of Stewart Island at the southern end of NZ. 

 

we also support the local rowi kiwi recovery program.  rowi are the rarest of the five species of NZ kiwi. 

 

🙂

Em

Hukawai Lodge

Franz Josef, NZ

https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/15418840

 

 

Kirstie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Em4,

 

Wow it sounds like your guests have an amazing, busy stay at the lodge!

 

That's really interesting to hear about the kakapo birds, I hadn't heard of them before! I just looked up a photo, they do look like funny big parrots! That's great you're supporting their recovery programme, it would be very sad if they became extinct. Rowi kiwis are very cute 🙂

 

 

Em4
Level 10
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

@Kirstie thank you.  you can go to the recovery program websites and see what they're up to.  sirocco is the only kakapo ambassador in the world.  he flies around nz a bit by plane of course.  haha.  but kakapo are lovely looking birds.  i'm glad you know a little more about them now.  you can find them in many documentaries - david attenborough, stephen fry etc

 

and agree, rowi babies are ultra cute.  the recovery program in Franz, allows visitors to learn about the program and its effect on the rowi population, to see baby rowi and 2 or 3 older birds in a specially constructed faux bush area.  there is also a night tour in the actual forest where Rowi are tracked by receiver.

 

the average stay in franz is one night.  people generally visit to view the glacier and to do the many nature walks.  i don't know what the actual current stats are on return visits, but it is low.  Franz Josef glacier is one of the must see's on a NZ tour.

 

🙂

Em

 

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

Lovely thread @Kirstie 
Thanks @Em4 @Gina113 @Aogán0 @Jackie79 @Karen-and-Brian0 @Annette33 @Rachael26 @Robin129 @Wendy-and-Frank0 @MicheleandLouw0 @Hilary-And-Ed0 

 

Did you see or take any new photos of these animals in your location in the last 12 or so months?

Did you fell there are more animals around?

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

We have plenty of birds on the farm, most notably the white cockatoos, corellas and pretty but noisy pink galahs. They tend to steal the show! My cat dragged a juvenile brown snake out of the bushes last week, so that's fun, haha. 
And we have kangaroos, always a crowd pleaser. I've stolen an idea from a game park in Sth Africa, and we have a blackboard in the cottage and we write down the date and location of recent sightings (not the snakes though!). We had koalas our first year on the farm but i think since being habitated full time by humans they have chosen other farms trees to live in. 

Deirdre122
Host Advisory Board Member
Stellenbosch, South Africa

I'm an experience host in South Africa - I host safaris both on horseback and online, so wildlife is part of my daily life. We ride through a wildlife reserve that is home to giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, eland, kudu, bontebok, springbuck. Others that we occasionally see in the reserve are cape foxes, mongooses and bush pigs. We have a large variety of bird life - our national bird which is the blue crane, guinea fowl, cape spur fowl, Egyptian geese, spur-winged geese, coots, African darters, herons, spoonbills, blacksmith lapwings, weavers, red bishops and a variety of smaller birds of prey - the fish eagle being my favourite to hear calling.

 

Outside of where I work we of course have other wildlife - there is the constant tension to co-exist between humans and baboons whose territory has been encroached on by urbanisation. I just passed a small buck on my road home this evening and often see wild rabbits and owls along that road too. 

oh last time i was in ZA we did a horseback ride through a game reserve, it was incredible! 

Deirdre122
Host Advisory Board Member
Stellenbosch, South Africa

Where did you do that?