Landcare’s fantail research

Landcare Research are doing a research programme on fantails in a number of gullies in Hamilton, including Mangaiti, to see if they can ascertain how long they live and to what extent they travel around. Although fantails are one of our most common native species there is not a lot of basic knowledge on their life style or their longevity particularly in an urban setting. There are two parts to this research. The first part is Landcare staff seeking out fledglings and putting coloured leg bands on each, with different colour combinations that individually identifies each bird. The second part is that some of these fledglings will also have a tiny radio tag (about the size of a grain of rice) glued temporarily to their back feathers. These radio tags will be monitored by up to ten aerials in Mangaiti Gully that have been installed around the gully edge (see photo). While the programme got off to a late start this breeding season some birds have already been banded. The programme will go through the full 24/25 breeding season. And this is where the community can participate, particularly those that live on the gully. If you see a fantail with coloured leg bands, record the colour combination on each leg (a photo or video would be great) and send to John Innes text 027-846-7344 or email innesj@landcareresearch.co.nz