Thread: Puke or Pukeko?

Yeah but they're bright, turning on light switches and using paint rollers!

Originally Posted by Maca49

Yeah but they're bright, turning on light switches and using paint rollers!

Mark Vetty is a very clever man.

Originally Posted by EeeBees

Their chicks would have to be the most ugly of any hatchlings...

Hmmmmmm. Not to sure about that as there is some strong competition for that claim.

Stephanie Key, took the raunchy self-portraits for Paris Design Week

Usually thin the numbers out whenever there is more then a few, pukes are a great way to get farmers to let you shoot on their land.

Beautiful birds. I wouldn't kill one. To me they are kiwi icons. Their silliness adds to their charm.

I accept that they do need to be controlled a bit because they damage silage wraps and become a nuisance but just killing them for the sake of it is beyond me. I don't know what leaving a beautiful bird laying dead in the paddock does for anyone.

Herons and bittens eat baby trout...do you shoot them too?

I still love you though Dundee

Aussie import that likes it here too much.

Only seen a bittern once and I didn't shoot it They are weird looking birds.

I started a poll on this maybe a year back now, the response was quite divided. Most seemed in favour of some sort of culling ,the rest wanted to 'save the pook!" - However, they are legal to shoot in season; does anybody go out of the way to knock them back? how about a forum shoot if anyone knows of properties with a plague of pooks?

As a side note it was interesting to see how many people thought they were a native species

Had a big shoot up last month in Nelson Nth. F&G organised on behalf of farmers being plagued by them. I heard that last year same area about 400 shot, may be an exaggeration but I do know they get a lot. Was same weekend as pheasant hunting.

Originally Posted by Pointer

I started a poll on this maybe a year back now, the response was quite divided. Most seemed in favour of some sort of culling ,the rest wanted to 'save the pook!" - However, they are legal to shoot in season; does anybody go out of the way to knock them back? how about a forum shoot if anyone knows of properties with a plague of pooks?

As a side note it was interesting to see how many people thought they were a native species

They are listed as a native species by DOC???? And enjoy partial protection from other organization

They're endemic Scribe, not native

We have them out where we where living in Taupaki. They were in like three different tribal groups, always rooting and scrapping each other. They killed and ate everything, Ducklings, baby rabbits, rats, mice, gold fish, free ranging chickens eggs, fruit off the trees. The pair of parries that had been living on the property for years kept getting all their babies scoffed by the mongrels. The parries modified their behaviour one year and tried nesting in a big hole in the side of an old man pine ( I shit you not, first time I seen the parry coming out the hole in the tree I thought I had better lay off the Stienies) but the babies all fell out and got eaten anyway. I have seen the local hawks worrying them as well, they would fly in to the wind about a meter above the Puke babies basically in a hover sort of mode trying to grab one, and the parents would leap up at them and try and grab the Hawks with their big freaky feet.
Land lord accused me of eating all his nectarines, I had seen the bastards standing in the tree one would use his beak and stab it into the fruit and pull it down to his mate on the ground who was keeping a look out.
Hardcase buggers all ways causing shit.

Does endemic not mean that they are only found here in NZ, IE unique to one country. I would have thought that meant it is native ? semantics eh
My little book of NZ birds tells me they are native

2. Native and introduced birds – Birdwatching – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

New Zealand’s birds can be categorised as endemic, native or introduced.

Endemic birds-Most of New Zealand’s native birds are endemic – they are found nowhere else

Native birds-Native birds are those that naturally occur in New Zealand. In addition to endemics, they include species that also exist in other countries.

Introduced birds-Thirty-nine deliberately introduced species have formed self-sustaining wild populations.

Originally Posted by Pointer

They're endemic Scribe, not native

Yeah...they flew here