Kia ora e hoa! I’m Hoiho – your Bird of the Year.
I’m going to be sharing the nature adventures and activities I’m getting up to over the next few weeks while we are all at home, here in this post, and on Facebook
I hope you will share what you’re doing with me too! You can email me at kcc@forestandbird.org.nz or post through our KCC Reporter Page: https://kcc.org.nz/kcc-reporters/
On Tuesday 24th of March…
I wanted to discover more about my kin so I played a game of Match-A-Penguin on the KCC website. I learnt an interesting fact about all the 18 penguin species in the world!
Here’s another – Did you know that us hoiho are likely the most ancient of penguins still alive today?
On Wednesday 25th of March…
Kia ora koutou! Kei te pehea koe?
Today I’m collecting seeds from my garden and nearby my house. So far I’ve found kōwhai and money plant seeds.
Autumn is a great time to save seeds as many plants are releasing and dispersing them right now. I’m being careful to look after the plant and the seeds while I collect them.
I’ll try propagate (grow new plants) from them shortly…
On Thursday 26th of March…
Today I went for a walk down the road to the beach to watch the sunset. Isn’t it ātaahua?
On Friday 27th of March…
Today I’m getting creative turning old containers into native species.
Say hello or give a 👋 to my new friend Whio. She is made from a toilet duck bottle.
Did you know that March is Whio Awareness month?
On Saturday 28th of March…
I went on a 🐻 hunt but to my suprise found a 🐰 instead! 😮
On Sunday 29th of March…
Today I want you to take me on an adventure! Draw a background around me OR insert/photoshop me into a photo to show where we would go together.
How about trekking through the forest? Climbing a mountain? Collecting shells? Swimming in the river?
Here’s one that’s been sent in already:
On Monday 30th of March…
Hoiho here. Today I’m going to be a sightseer/tourist in my own backyard and take photos of all the cool things I see.
This idea came from KCCer Karrie-Ann. Here’s some of the photos she took when she was sightseeing at her house.
On Tuesday 31st of March…
I’ve taken on the RNZ LEGO NZ Critter challenge. Here’s my pekapeka | short-tailed bat 🦇
What critter are you building? See some of the examples that have been sent to us here
Make sure you get your entries in by Friday midday to Jesse Mulligan RNZ Afternoons via email – jesse@rnz.co.nz
On Wednesday 1st of April…
My bubble buddy Kererū has challenged me to a friendship quiz. I think I know him pretty well – but let’s find out!
Want to challenge your friends and family to a quiz about you. You can make one at www.matequiz.com – it’s easy as, and you can change the questions and answers to suit if you want.
On Thursday 2nd of April…
I’m cooking up a storm, creating a new kiwi classic fritter for my family (minus the native whitebait) for lunch. Yum!
https://kcc.org.nz/portfolio/a-new-kiwi-classic/
On Friday 3rd of April…
I’ve got a great book to listen to this evening before I go to bed. It’s called Aroha’s Way and is all about wellbeing and being connected to nature. My friends at Kids Greening Taupo suggested it.
Here’s the link so you can listen too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6irr_hGCRl0&feature=emb_logo
On Saturday 4th of April…
On Sunday 5th of April…
Did you enjoy your extra hour of sleep?
To mark the end of daylight saving here in NZ, KCC has put their Dark/Night issue of Wild Things up online. It’s free – so make sure to share it with your friends and family too
Enjoy! 🐧
On Monday 6th of April…
Today I’ve been looking at the variety of leaves around me. I decided to make some leaf rubbings, and then cut these out and arrange them to make patterns!
On Tuesday 7th of April…
The weather report for tomorrow says it’s going to be wet nearly everywhere in NZ. I’ve made a rain gauge to measure how much water we get at my place.
Should we have a competition to see who gets the most and least amount of rain? Measure between 8am tomorrow to 8am on Thursday. To take part in the competition, you’ll need to use a standard 1.5L fizzy bottle so our gauges and funnels are all the same dimensions.
Here’s some instructions on how to make a rain gauge at home: http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2017/making-a-rain-gauge
On Wednesday 8th of April…
I’ve been finding out more about sharks today – one of my native predators at sea. They’re amazing!
My bubble mates made their favourite NZ shark species for me out of a left-over cardboard tube. The one with the long tail is a mangō ripi | thresher shark, and the one with the cool eyes is a mangōpare | hammerhead shark.
Here’s the activity sheet for making cardboard sharks: https://kcc.org.nz/portfolio/make-a-cardboard-roll-shark/
Rawe!
On Thursday 9th of April…
I’ve had 3mm in my rain gauge between 8am Weds to 8am Thurs.
It’s raining a lot more now, so I’m going to leave it out for another 24hrs to compare my readings ☔️
Over Easter weekend…
I have a challenge for you – an egg quiz! Can you work out who laid each of these eggs?
Go to Egg Quiz Answers
On Tuesday 14th of April…
Today I’m doing a bit of magic.
Who’s that singing? Why it’s a….
Have a go at this trick yourself. All you need is a paper towel, vivid, felts and a container of water!
https://youtu.be/KX19xFfaRo8
On Wednesday 15th of April…
Have you got lots of odd socks at your house? We sure do! Today I’ve decided to upcycle these into socktopuses! This is my first – Lacey.
On Thursday 16th of April…
This afternoon I am going to do one of these awesome KCC scavenger hunts. I’m not sure which one to choose though – any suggestions?
You can find them here www.kcc.org.nz/activities (click on the tag “Scavenger Hunts” at the top)
On Friday 17th of April…
It’s #dressupfriday and I’ve decided to dress up as a tuatara! How are you dressing up today? Send your pictures to me at kcc@forestandbird.org.nz
On Monday 20th of April…
It’s going to get really windy later so I’ve made a windsock. I used the activity sheet in the KCC website to help, but had to make some adaptions to suit what materials I have at home in lockdown (I’ve use a safety pin rather than wire for instance).
My windsock looks like a native freshwater fish because I think they are spectacular – and I know they and their environment need our help right now.
Do you notice the star pattern on my fish? I did that because our galaxiids are named for the sparkling specks on their skin that look like a galaxy of stars.
On Tuesday 21st of April…
It’s the 50th anniversary of Earth Day tomorrow (April 22) so I’m preparing to start a zero waste challenge to mark it.
The first step is to log all the packaging and food waste I make in one normal day. I’m wondering…
*How much plastic will I use?
*Are any of my food scraps compostable?
*Is anything reusable or recyclable?
This mahi will count as towards my Waste Warriors Award too – ka rawe! (www.kcc.org.nz/waste-warriors)
On Thursday 23rd April
Today I decided to write my name with NZ native species!
