Over lunch I updated my graphs from the AudioMoth bird recorder that runs in our garden in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, New Zealand. I'm coming up on 4-years of continuous recording now, from 2-hours before sunrise to 2-hours after sunset each day.
I find it interesting how different bird species have different, yet annually consistent, seasonal flows in and out of our garden. Here are some examples.
The korimako – NZ bellbird (*Anthornis melanura*), peaks in winter and dips in summer, as does the tauhou – silvereye (*Zosterops lateralis.*), from Australia.
In contrast, the house sparrow (*Passer domesticus*) and greenfinch (*Chloris chloris*), both from Britain, peak in summer and mostly leave the garden in winter.
I don't conpletely understand why this happens. Korimako breed elsewhere up in the hills, so that makes sense, but where do the tauhou go in summer and why do the house sparrows leave in winter?
#birds #nz #seasonality #ecology #EcologicalMonitoring #UrbanEcology