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      • Birds of a feather
        • Sweet Dreams (ruru)
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        • A real kiwi joker (kiwi pukupuku)
        • Bursting out (kākāriki)
        • Winging it (kākā)
        • Popping up (takahē)
        • Emerging (kākā kura)
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        • Over the moon (red-tailed black cockatoo)
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        • Whirlybird (scaly-breasted lorikeet)
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        • It's about time
        • Professor Polly
        • The big idea
        • A quick study
        • The web of life (toutouwai)
        • The reckoning
        • The scenic route
        • The bird watcher
        • Uncharted waters
        • When I sing my heart ascends
      • The beloved tūī
        • Portrait of a tūī
        • The Sign of the Southern Cross (tūī)
        • Nightlife
        • I shall ride every storm (tūī)
        • From Whence Cometh Evil (tūī)
        • Sad wings of destiny (tūī)
        • The Collector (tūī)
        • The Spy (tūī)
        • Unfurling (tūī)
        • Forever calling me (tūī)
        • A portrait of a tui 2
        • A portrait of a tui 3
        • In all his glory (tūī)
      • Awesome forces
        • All at sea
        • He came to me...
        • Adrift
        • The emergence of flight
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        • Visions of Zealandia
        • An urban jungle
        • Imagine
        • Break on through...
      • Support Zealandia
      • A cacophony of kākā
        • Baby kākā
      • Wildlife Photography
        • A new view
        • His resplendence (tūī)
        • The Sweetheart (kākā)
        • Portrait of a tūī
        • After midnight (kiwi pukupuku)
        • Dreaming big (takahē)
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        • The Watcher (blue and gold macaw)
        • The Fighter (rainbow lorikeet)
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A real kiwi joker

14/9/2020

1 Comment

 
Photo art of a laughing kiwi out for a moonlit stroll
A real kiwi joker - fine art print
This fella cracks me up! I can just imagine him out for a moonlit stroll chortling away to himself. I don't know what the joke is, but it's a good one. Listen out, if you're in kiwi territory, for their distinctive snuffling and snorting as they go about their business.

It's not easy to get good kiwi pukupuku (little-spotted kiwi) photos - they are nocturnal after all. But I was fortunate to get the opportunity to photograph this chap during the day as he foraged for grass grubs. Conservation staff thought he was likely in a territory dispute, so rather than take on his foe, he decided to take the peaceful option and forage in the daytime instead. It was such a rare opportunity that I shot a couple of thousand photos! And I couldn't resist reimagining him in a more familiar night-time scene.
A kiwi and its iconic sillouhette taken at night
A more-typical night-time photo of a kiwi
More typically, photo opportunities are at night and lit by red torchlight (converting to black and white is the only option). Shutter-speeds are slow and ISO is high, making for a grainy photo with motion blur. Despite these limitations, I do love the above photo with the oversized shadow in the iconic kiwi shape.
I've been fortunate to be involved with some of the kiwi research at Zealandia EcoSanctuary, helping out Andrew Digby (before he became a kākāpō and takahē guru) and Helen Taylor. I never did get to see a kiwi chick, but I did get to see many adults. A highlight was watching a fight late one night, with the two kiwi "beak-fighting" like they rapiers.

We (literally!) dug kiwi out of their burrows during the day for health checks. This provided some unique opportunities to get close-up photos of their tiny wings and their huge eggs. 
A researcher holds out a tiny kiwi wing
A vestigial kiwi pukupuku wing
A researcher holds a kiwi eggs - it fills her entire hand
A huge kiwi pukupuku egg
Helen's research suggests that all is not well for kiwi pukupuku. Despite their breeding success at Zealandia, Kāpiti, and other places around New Zealand, they are descended from only a handful of birds. This genetic bottlenecking decreases the fertility of each generation and lowers their genetic diversity. Helen's research has been instrumental in helping conservation organizations get a handle on how many individuals are needed to successfully translocate a species to a new home.
If you found this page because you're after kiwi photos, I've donated a number to Wikimedia Commons with a CC-BY-4.0 licence which means they're free to use with attribution. Links to my fine-art prints featuring the kiwi are below, with sales supporting conservation at Zealandia.

Fine art prints featuring kiwi pukupuku

A real kiwi joker (kiwi pukupuku)

Out for an early evening stroll under a rising moon, our kiwi friend is chuckling to himself - I wonder what the joke is?


10% of the artist's proceeds goes to Zealandia EcoSanctuary to support their conservation efforts.

​Free shipping worldwide. Price includes 15% GST for New Zealand sales.


Also available as an 80cm print, on enquiry.


kiwi pukupuku, little-spotted kiwi, Apteryx owenii

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After midnight (kiwi pukupuku)

A snuffle, a rustle, then a ghostly image appears, silvery light dappling over his fluffy feathers - this is the rare and endangered kiwi pukupuku (little-spotted kiwi) out for a moonlit stroll. Long cat-like whiskers and a heightened sense of smell ensures this kiwi will find a tasty dinner.


10% of the artist's proceeds goes to Zealandia EcoSanctuary to support their conservation efforts.

​Free shipping worldwide. Price includes 15% GST for New Zealand sales.


kiwi pukupuku, little-spotted kiwi, Apteryx owenii

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1 Comment
Rosemary Cole
28/9/2020 06:36:01 am

Mōrena Judi,
Tau kē art!
I really do like and laugh at the GSOH portrayed in your art, especially ' A Real Kiwi Joker '!! :O)
Kia ora when the weather is about to 'turn to custard ' ...yet again! : O {
Mauri ora,
Rosemary

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    Judi Lapsley Miller

    Fine art inspired by the stories of birds and the natural world. Starting with photographs, I let my imagination take me on flights of fancy. What is real and what is imagined is blurred. What is physical and what is virtual is disrupted. Bursting with colour and life.
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