Fabulous facts about Auckland's wildlife

Native birds

The native birds poster features facts about kiwi, tūī, tīeke/saddleback, takahē, kōkako, bellbird, hihi/stitchbirds and kererū/New Zealand wood pigeon.

Download the native land birds A2 poster (PDF, 5,240K)

Find native birds in Auckland

Some places where these native birds can be found:

• Tiritiri Matangi (kiwi, tūī, tīeke, takahē, kōkako, bellbird, hihi, kererū)
• Motutapu Island (kiwi, tūī, kererū, tīeke, takahe, bellbird)
• Motuihe Island (kiwi, tūī, kererū, tīeke, bellbird)
• Motuora Island (kiwi)
• Waitakere Ranges (tūī, kererū)
• Ark in the Park/Cascades area of the Waitakere Ranges (kōkako, tūī, kererū)
• Hunua Ranges (tūī, kererū, kōkako)
  Kokako are concentrated in a particular part of the Hunua Ranges, along the Kohukohunui Track. They will hopefully become more widespread, as intensive predator control is being carried out in this area.

Note: Kiwi are only active at night, and often difficult to spot, but there are opportunities to camp overnight at some of these locations. 

Shore and sea birds

The shore and sea birds poster features facts about red-billed gulls/tarāpunga, black-billed gulls/tarāpuka, tūturiwhatu/dotterel, tara iti/fairy tern, kororā/little penguin, tākapu/gannets, tōrea/oystercatchers and tāiko/black petrel.

Download the shore and sea birds A2 poster (PDF, 5,360K)

Find shore and sea birds in Auckland

Some places where these shore and sea birds can be found:

• Aotea/Great Barrier Island (black petrel)
• Tiritiri Matangi Island (a good place to view penguins in their nest boxes, along the foreshore from the wharf)
• Less disturbed beaches, eg Whakanewha Regional Park on Waiheke Island, or the beaches of Motutapu Island (dotterel and oystercatchers)
• Hauraki Gulf (gannets are often seen while onboard a passenger ferry or private boat)
• Eastern beaches (gulls – they breed in the Hauraki Gulf, where they are less disturbed)

Marine life

The marine species poster features facts about snapper/tāmure, common dolphin/aihe, great white sharks/mangō ururoa, fur seal/kekeno, orca/maki, sea urchins/kina, sea lion/whakahao and marine life in the Hauraki Gulf.

Download the marine species A2 poster (PDF, 7,423K)

Find marine life in Auckland

All the marine species on the poster can be found in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, however seeing them might be a bit tricky.

A trip to any marine reserve is a great opportunity to study lots of other kinds of marine life in its natural habitat.

Animal predators

This [not so] fabulous facts poster features information about Australian rainbow lorikeets, hedgehogs, stoats, rats, wasps, Australian rainbow skinks, argentine ants and possums.

Download the animal predators A2 poster (PDF, 9,556K)

These predators are found everywhere on the mainland where predator control is not being carried out.

Visit our predator-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf to experience wildlife the way it was meant to be, before the arrival of humans and their accompanying predators to New Zealand.

About this resource

Learning levels

• Early childhood
• Primary
• Secondary

Topics

• Marine and coastal
• Offshore islands 
• Forest and green spaces
• Native animals
• Native plants
• Predators and threats

Curriculum learning areas

• Science
• Social science
• Education for sustainability
• English
• Maths and statistics
• The Arts
• Geography
• Health and PE
• Technology