Tipu Consultants

28/01/2022

What a week! And what a team.

It was a hard time out Crosbie’s this week doing surveys in the rain but having an ace team really makes it enjoyable.
The track is really cool (long and hard uphills) but the mist in the trees made the lack of view worthwhile.

Thanks OG Team .powell33 .c.ireland and newbies and for making it a fun trip.

30/11/2021

Keen for a real NZ made lizard calendar? Photographed by the very talented herpetologist .jk they’re perfect for your office and/or home.

These are limited edition 2022 calendars so get in quick!

PM us your delivery address and we’ll send one out.

Calendars are $22 each + postage.

No shame for promoting these. Paula’s got last years one on the back of her loo door and it’s 👌🏼

📸 Samantha King

14/11/2021

Plant of the week is a crazy little ‘tree fern’, Diploblechnum fraseri / maukurangi. This wee fern of up to a meter tall forms little groves in dappled light in the bush.

It’s got distinctive jagged wings on its mid and upper midrib which makes this fern quite different from others.

It only occurs from northland to the Waikato on Te Ika a Māui, and on the northwest regions of Te Waipounamu.

It’s easy to imagine you’re a giant when you encounter these ferns as they’re such neat treefern miniatures.

📸 Paula Godfrey

07/11/2021

Plant of the week is Corybas oblongus / spider orchid.
Spider orchid is a common name for many of the 22 Corybas species we have in NZ. This species is particularly cool with its elongated labellum and fringe of hyaline teeth which look like pretty frills.

These gals are coming to the end of their flowering period (winter/spring). They’re found almost throughout NZ (except the Canterbury region) so keep your eyes peeled on the ground for an observation (and remember to iNaturalise it!)

📸 Paula Godfrey

31/10/2021

Plant of the week is Drosera auriculata, Tall sundew. You might have noticed sundews lately, they’ve been busy flowering and catching bugs to feast on.

We’ve got 9 species of Drosera in NZ, 2 of which are non-native.

These cool plants are carnivorous, getting most of their nutrients from insects which they trap using the super-sticky globs on the ends of their ‘fingers’.

You’ll find Sundews all over nz- they occur in a variety of habitats and are very distinctive.

I was telling a group with us what they were in the field last week, and before I got to the part where I explained sundews method of catching prey they’d all started prodding them with twigs thinking they’d snap shut like a Venus fly trap. They were most disappointed nothing happened!!

11/08/2021

New Zealand Bird of the week is the White-fronted tern ( kahawai Bird ).

The name ‘white-fronted’ refers to the ‘frons’ or forehead, where a thin strip of white separates the black cap from the black bill.

Pair-bonds are retained from one season to the next. Before laying, the male courtship-feeds the female, presenting small fish to her.

📸 Grant Watson

05/08/2021

The New Zealand bird of the week is the New Zealand Pigeon ( Kereru).

These birds species are crucial seed dispersers for native plants and therefore key to natural regeneration and forest health.

Since the extinction of the moa, the kererū and parea are now the only bird species that are big enough to swallow large fruit, such as those of karaka, miro, tawa and taraire, and disperse the seed over long distances. The disappearance of these birds could be a disaster for the regeneration of our native forests.

📸 Grant Watson

22/07/2021

Plant of the week is Veronica odora (formerly H**e odora).

This particular h**e is pretty cool. It grows all over NZ (see last pic for distribution) and has a compact form, growing to over a meter.

NZ has about 160 Veronica species growing from alpine areas to the sea. It can be tricky telling some apart from each other.

I learnt from a Kuia when I was a child that h**e leaf tips (recommended dose ~6 tips) can cure diarrhoea in about 2 hours flat. I can also confirm it works a treat.

During WWll dried H**e was also sent to our troops. You can still buy H**e tincture today at pharmacy’s to cure diarrhoea.

Luckily we’ve got so many H**e’s in NZ you’re likely to find some in your time of need.

📸 Paula Godfrey

**e **eordata

16/07/2021

Half the team went to the braided rivers symposium this week. It was all about what we already knew- too much nitrates, not enough urgent action and not enough peer pressure from farmer-to-farmer to do the right thing for the environment.

This week we also found that the regulatory bodies aren’t publishing nitrate data correctly (Stats NZ), misleading the public.

We need to have more people like Peter Trolove in our communities.

Worried about excess nitrogen in water, Cantabrians are taking matters into their own hands

15/07/2021

New Zealand bird of the week is the Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus Vigors) Kotare.

Sacred Kingfishers are found widely in New Zealand in a wide range of habitats which include forest, river margins, farmland, lakes estuaries and rocky coastlines; anywhere where there is water or open country with adjacent elevated perches.

Kingfishers have been recorded diving between 2 cm and 1 metre into water to take prey. In estuarine mudflats the diet is mainly small crabs

📸 Grant Watson

13/07/2021

Plant of the week is English ivy (Hedera helix). A classic garden escape- now a widespread w**d in NZ.

The time to control ivy is now, before the seeds mature (they’ll become black when mature) and birds happily eat them and spread the seeds.

Unfortunately ivy can grow in shade, which isn’t great news for our naive forests. It suppresses seedlings and climbs up trees and killing them.

Ivy has varied leaves, ranging from simple undivided leaves to highly divided and sometimes colourful. Their form changes to become more ‘tree like’ when they get large.

Do your bit and get it out of your garden-and don’t throw the refuse over a bank. You can use the leaves as mulch in your garden and burn the stems in your fireplace to keep you warm on these frosty mornings.

📸 Paula Godfrey

**ds