Although we have a toilet here on Rangatira, it is a composting toilet which is reserved for poos rather than wees. So when we need to wee, we find an appropriate bush to skulk behind. Thankfully there are a lot of bushes in the forest so we don’t have far to look. It’s a bit spooky going at night though as I always forget my torch and there is a loud rustling from insects and the screeching of sea birds who rush away as soon as they see me. I know that Rangatira is very safe, but I still rush back to my warm sleeping bag as fast as I can every night.
The toilet!
Whenever we weigh or catch birds in our mist nets, Melanie is always pleased when the birds voluntarily donate a poo sample, even if it’s on our pants. With great joy the poo sample is scooped up and placed inside a small Eppendorf vial. Why is Melanie so excited about poo? She, Brigitta and an expert virologist named Arvind Varsani at the University of Canterbury are collaborating on a study on viruses. Animals shed viruses in their poo, and Melanie, Brigitta and Arvind hope to find out whether black robins or any other birds on this island are infected with viruses.
Egg shells and other material collected for further research:
And while we are on the subject of all things excretory, most birds are very careful not to poo in their nests. Baby birds shuffle themselves to the edges of their nests and poo on the rim. Their poo in contained in a thin membrane and the parent will either eat it or fly away with it and drop it far from the nest. How’s that for tidy?
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