One of the nests that Melanie sent me to check this morning was MM22 up on Jill’s track which had a chick that is about to fledge. The nest card for this one says that it is in Muehlenbeckia. Talk about an understatement!
Muehlenbeckia (also called pohuehue) is a native vine that looks like it is swallowing areas of the forest, eventually pulling down the trees that it covers. Around nest MM22 there is a clearing that is covered in the stuff.
Muehlenbeckia in the forest:
Imagine if you can, me, having tripped over at least three times, swearing at the poor plant and getting my pocket knife out hack it into submission. The large areas of it are signs of a disturbed forest, which is hardly surprising seeing that the Rangatira forest is still re-growing after having been grazed for years.
Thick growth of Muehlenbeckia:
The thick tangled Muehlenbeckia vines along with the thicker supplejack vines however provide the perfect support for a nest. Both the new and old dying vines are full off nests, as they are sheltered from the wind and rain and strong enough to carry Tarzan were he to swing by.
I spent an hour looking for a Chatham Island Tomtit nest this morning. Every time I fed the male, he flew towards a patch of old Muehlenbeckia vines. But try as I might, and I really did try, I just couldn’t find where the nest actually was.
Just before I decided to give up and find a handy stump on which to sit down and have a cry, Mel came along. I pointed out the right area and it too her fewer than 5 minutes to find the nest, and it had three tiny white eggs in it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you SF01, my first nest!
Nest in Muehlenbeckia:
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