Just 15 minutes’ drive from central Wellington CBD is a wildlife sanctuary called Zealandia. In was an idea dreamt up by local conservationists to restore a part of Wellington into its pre-historical state, to allow many birds that is unique to New Zealand, such as Kiwi and Takahe, that has been driven off from the mainland by human activities to be able to come back and thrive in their natural environment. In order for that to happen, a 225 hectare area in the Karori ranges was fenced off using 2.2 meter high fences that extends 40 cm below the ground to stop high jumping and ground burrowing pests such as rats, cats and possums were kept out of the area. This is followed by the introduction of various native plants and native birds to restore the valley to its pre-human state. So Zealandia was not only a tourist destination, but a large scale conservation project. We visited Zealandia during our Wellington trip, and not only were we able to enjoy a relaxing bushwalk through the native forest, we were also lucky enough to see some rare birds that can only be found in New Zealand.

离威灵顿市中心不到十五分钟车程有一个野生保护区Zealandia. 它是本地环保主义者所设计，旨在在保护区还原威灵顿的原始生态，从而让一些新西兰独有的本土鸟类，例如奇异鸟，泰卡鸡等这些在威灵顿早已绝迹的物种能够再次在这里繁殖生存。为了这个梦想他们在这个225公顷的森林的周边用二米多高而往地底伸展40厘米的围墙，去防止那些像老鼠，野猫，袋貂等会跳跃或会挖洞的外来小动物去破坏原生态。然后在确保保护区里没有这些外来物种后才引进了本土原生植物和鸟类。所以Zealandia不仅是个旅游景点，它还是一个大型的环保项目。我们在威灵顿的时候有幸游览了这个野生保护区。我们不但享受了在原始森林漫步那种与世隔绝的感觉，还看到了不少罕有的濒危本土鸟类。

Tui 图伊鸟

Tui is one of the most common bird sighting at Zealandia, and they are distinctively easy to spot due to their two tufts of white feather on either side of their neck. They are also very loud songbirds. You could hear their beautiful songs through out the sanctuary. They could even mimic sounds of other birds. They used to be quite rare, but luckily their population boomed after conservation efforts mainly concentrated on the eradication of pests such as rodents and possums.

图伊鸟是在Zealandia里比较常见的鸟。它们颈部两边的两团白羽毛让图伊鸟非常容易辨认。图伊鸟非常会唱歌，它们清脆的歌声在保护区里很多地方都可以听见。它们有时候还会模仿别的鸟的声音。图伊鸟本来所剩无几，幸好在环保工作，特别是消灭外来有害物种的努力下，图伊鸟的数量渐渐上升回到原来水平。

Kaka 卡卡鹦鹉

Kaka is a native parrot in New Zealand. There are three subspecies of Kaka, the North Island Kaka, which is the most common one, the South Island Kaka, and the Chatham Island Kaka which is already extinct. The main risk facing Kaka is the lost of habitat through deforestation as Kaka require large areas of forests to survive. Kaka is also at risk from food competition with introduced species such as deers, possums and even wasps (as they share the same food such as fruits and nectars). Like all parrots, Kaka are smart and cheeky. At Zealandia they placed special boxes with nuts for them and they have no problem in opening the boxes and then breaking apart the hard shell with the help of its claws.

卡卡鹦鹉是新西兰特有的鹦鹉。卡卡鹦鹉有三个亚种，其中查塔姆群岛亚种已经灭绝，而剩下的南岛和北岛亚种中，南岛卡卡特为罕有。在保护区里看到的则是北岛卡卡。卡卡非常聪明，可以打开盒子找食物，还可以用爪子帮忙进食。可是它们还是受到外来物种，像鹿，猪，和黄蜂等与其竞争食物所威胁。

North Island Robin 北岛知更鸟

Because of their small size they are especially vulnerable to pests, and can only be found in forest pockets across New Zealand, where it is other natively pest free or significant effort has been put in eradicating pests. Still, their population is declining. They are known to be very friendly to human, often coming quite close to bird watchers. We chanced upon this little guy on the forest floor and it was not shy at all, coming very close to us, almost landing on our shoes.

北岛知更鸟是一种细小的鸟类。因为体型小，它们特别受外来物种捕猎的威胁。只有在少数没有外来威胁的森林才能看到它们的踪迹。它们的数量也正在下降。它们十分的不怕人，观鸟者常常可以近距离观察它们。我们看到这一只也离我们很近，还差点就停了在我们的鞋子上。

Pied Shag 斑鸬鹚

This is a water bird that can be commonly found in both New Zealand and Australia, with a least-concern conservation status. Nevertheless, it is at risk of human activities, especially fishing where they would get caught and killed by fisherman’s nets. Therefore, Zealandia with its protected waterways becomes the perfect sanctuary for these beautiful birds. It is nesting season for these birds, and we saw a lot of nests either on the banks of the river or on large trees beside the river. In some of these nests the eggs have already hatched, and we can just make out little baby Pied Shags sitting with their mums snuggly in their nest.

斑鸬鹚是一种澳洲和新西兰比较常见的水鸟。虽然数量繁多，它们还是受到了人类活动的威胁，例如被困在渔网中。所以Zealandia这个保护区也给了这些比较常见的鸟一个安全的栖息地。现在正好是筑巢季节。在岸边的小丛林中，或河边的大树上，都可以看见很多斑鸬鹚在孵蛋。我们还看到了刚孵化的小鸟在鸟妈妈的怀里享受着呢。

Silvereye 灰胸绣眼鸟

This is another bird that is not unique to New Zealand. It was self introduced in the 1800s, meaning that it probably migrated to New Zealand from other parts of the world by flying across the ocean. The Maori name of Silvereye is tauhou, which literally means “new arrival”. Since they are not introduced by humans, they are still considered as native birds. The Silvereye is quite tiny but cute, and have beautiful yellow and grey feathers as well a white cycle around its eye which gave it its name. We spotted this Silvereye on a small bush and it looked pretty cheeky. It was like straight out of an Angry Bird game.

灰胸绣眼鸟是另一种不是新西兰特有的鸟，在澳洲也很常见。它们是十九世纪才到达新西兰，被毛里人称为Tauhou, 是新来者的意思。可是因为它们不是被人类带进新西兰的，所以不算是外来物种。它细小而漂亮，有着黄和灰的羽毛，眼睛旁有个白色的圈。我们见到的这只看上去很凶，像只愤怒的小鸟。

Takahe 泰卡鸡

Takahe is one of the rarest birds in the world. There are only about 350 Takahes in total, most of them living in the Fiordlands. It is a special bird as it was once thought extinct until it was rediscovered in 1948. Since then, massive conservation efforts have been put into getting them into a stable population increase, mainly through breeding programs and restoration of natural habitats. However, it is difficult, as it is constantly in danger of being eaten by introduced predators such as cats and stoats. For example, a stoat outbreak in 2007 halved the total population of Takahe, putting it back down to below 100. This is unfortunately a common problem for all native flightless birds in New Zealand. At Zealandia, there are two Takahe living by the lake. You can get quite close to them and admire their colourful feathers.

泰卡鸡是世界上非常罕有的鸟，全球只有三百五十多只，大部分都在南岛的Fiordland. 泰卡鸡一直都被认为早已灭绝，直到1948年才重新被发现。经过像人工繁殖和原生态还原等一系列的物种保护工作，泰卡鸡的数量终于有所改善。然而它们的数量很容易受到打击，例如2007年时就因为白鼬的入侵而骤减一半到少于100只。这是所有新西兰原生鸟，特别是不会飞的鸟，所遇到的困境。在Zealandia有两只泰卡鸡，我们可以近距离欣赏这两只罕有的鸡和它们漂亮的羽毛。

Pateke (Brown Teal) 新西兰褐色水鸭

Pateke or Brown Teal is a native New Zealand waterfowl that used to be common through out New Zealand. However, it was heavily hunted by early European settlers for food that their population decline rapidly. Like many native birds in New Zealand, they cannot fly, and so is especially vulnerable to introduced predators. There are only about 2000 of them left in the wild, making it the rarest waterfowl in New Zealand. They are also supposed to be nocturnal. So it was extremely lucky for us to see not just one, but a family of Pateke waddling along looking for food.
新西兰褐色水鸭是新西兰特有的水禽，原本数量众多。可是它们在欧洲殖民时期被过度猎杀，让它们的数量骤降。而且它们不会飞，所以很容易受到外来物种的威胁。现在褐色水鸭是新西兰最稀有的水禽，全国只有不到三千只。褐色水鸭通常晩上才出来活动，所以我们能看见了水鸭妈妈和宝宝还是挺幸运的！

Kereru 新西兰鸽

Kereru, also known as New Zealand Pigeon, is another native bird that can only be found in New Zealand. It is more common than some of the birds found in Zealandia, and it have a non-threaten conservation status. However, it is still at risk of introduced predators, as well as illegal hunting, as Kereru was traditionally hunt for food and feather. Two other kinds of native pigeons had become extinct last century because of these two risks, and we would want to stop the same fate happening to the Kereru. In particular, Kereru is very important for the New Zealand Ecosystem, as it is one of the only birds which is capable of spreading seeds for trees with large fruits (small birds cannot help spread seeds of large fruits as they cannot swallow them as a whole).

新西兰鸽顾名思义是新西兰特有的鸽子。虽然它们在新西兰比较常见，可是和其他的本地鸟一样受到了外来物种和森林砍伐的威胁。毕竟新西兰另外两种本土鸽子已因这两个因素而灭绝。新西兰鸽在原始森林的生态系动起着非常重要的作用。因为它们是为数不多可以散播体积庞大的种子的鸟类品种之一。

All these different native birds used to thrive on this land, but human activities have pushed them to the brink of extinction. There are also countless more that have already extinct because of us. But we can change this. We can change their fate. Simple actions such as not waste food and use recycled paper would reduce the need for deforestation. Taking care of your pet, stop them from hurting native wildlife and avoid creating stray animal by following “Adopt not Buy”, we would be able to protect native wildlife from being killed by these predators that we introduced. if we could all act and actively protecting the environment by changing our lifestyle, only then would we be able to preserve these beautiful wildlife for generations to come.

这些不同种类的鸟，原本在新西兰这片与世无当争的净土和谐共存，却因为人类的介入被推到了灭亡的边缘。有更多的鸟和动物也因为人为的因素早已灭绝。真是十分可悲。幸好，我们是可以改变它们的命运的。若果每个人都可以做到不浪费食物和尽量用回收纸张，森林砍伐就可以减少。保管好宠物不要伤害野生动物，还有只领养不买去减少流浪猫狗，也可以保护野生动物不被伤害。保护环境，人人有责。只要每个人都能做到他们的本份，这些野生动物的末来就能看见曙光。

For more information on these birds, check out the New Zealand Department of Conservation website or the Zealandia website

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