Bird Information Report

What is the rarest penguin in the world? Which penguin is the smallest in the world? The yellow eyed penguin and blue penguin answer both of these questions. These two bird species are native to New Zealand. The blue penguin is the smallest penguin in the world and the yellow eyed penguin is the rarest penguin in the world.

Both penguins live by the coast. They build their nests in vegetation and hollows in the ground. The blue penguin is found in various places around New Zealand, but especially in the lower South Island and upper North Island. Whereas the yellow eyed penguin is found in Banks Peninsula (Christchurch), Otago and multiple Southland coasts. 

The two penguins have very similar diets. They both eat small fish and squid. But the yellow eyed penguin can dive to depths of over 160 metres which is about twice the depth then that of a typical blue penguin. This means that the yellow eyed penguin is able to catch fish that live on the seafloor.

Both penguins have similar appearances. Small sharp beaks and powerful strong flippers. Even though they are similar in some ways in others they are different in others. Yellow eyed penguins live up to their name and have yellow eyes. The blue penguin is, you guessed it blue. Even though most penguins have blue coats but little blue penguin has a more vibrant blue coat therefore earning its name the blue penguin.

Both the blue penguin and yellow eyed penguin have Maori names. The yellow eyed penguin Maori name is hoihoi which means ‘noise shouter’. Kororā is the name of the blue penguin in Maori. Blue penguins are also known as fairy penguins. Since the yellow eyed penguin is the rarest penguin in the world they only have a population of 6000 - 7000 yellow eyed penguins in the world. However the blue penguin population is around 600,000 birds so a lot but that doesn't mean they don’t have some predators and other worries.

One worry of the blue penguin is the increasing amount of plastic in our seas. If they eat the plastic it can kill them. Another concern of blue penguins is oil spills. Oil spills are when boats carrying oil sink or their containers split and spill into the sea. A patch of oil the size of your thumbnail can be deadly to a penguin. If a penguin has oil in their feathers and they start preening themselves they will swallow the oil and die. Preening is when birds clean and smooth their feathers.

Penguins has seven main predators. Some of them are in the sea while others are on land. While they are swimming they are prey to fur seals, whales, and sharks. On land they are prey to rats, cats, stoats and ferrets. These predators contribute to the troubles some penguins face. All of these predators are introduced to New Zealand therefore the penguins weren’t ready or evolved for the predators therefore their numbers decreased dramatically.

I hope you learnt about the blue penguin and yellow eyed penguin. How they are different in many ways but similar in others. Both these penguins are beautiful creatures but we need to protect them from threats like predators and poison, so they don’t become extinct.

Welcome to the Rainforest

This term we have been learning about habitats. Everyone had to pick a habitat and do a flip book about it. I chose to do the rainforest. A fun fact I found was that rainforest only covers 6% of the worlds surface.  We presented our work as an app flip book. Each page had a different topic including the weather, the animals that live there and more. It was a great learning experience as at the start I didn't  know much about the rainforest but after I learned lots of facts about the rainforest. Here is a picture of my finished flip book.

 

Cultural Week

This week is Cultural Week. At school we celebrated nine different cultures by being put in different classes to learn all about.  I was put in the Brazilian group. It was great fun. We learned a few basic samba steps which is the national dance in Brazil. We also learnt about the culture and the language. My favourite thing we learnt about was the Amazon Rainforest which is the largest rainforest in the world. To top off the week we got to perform our Samba dance in front of the whole school. It was great fun learning all about the language, culture and dance of Brazil.

Women Suffrage 125

Today was Suffrage 125 which means 125 years ago women in New Zealand won the right to vote. My mum and I went to the Sunrise Celebration in Aotea Square. Jacinda Ardern, our third woman prime minister, spoke. She spoke about her mum. I found it really cool and inspiring that she spoke about her mum. Next up was Selina Tusitala Marsh, the New Zealand poet. She spoke about her mum as well but also talked about what it was like to be Pasifika and to be dawn raided. Last but not least Annie Crummer, the famous  NZ singer. She sung three of her songs. Lots of other people spoke about the campaign for the vote but these three were my favourites.  It was great fun and I learnt lots I really want to go to another suffrage morning. Maybe I'll still be alive for Suffrage 200. Suffrage 200 here we come!!!

Crosses

In art class, we are painting crosses. They are to be put around the school. First we had to plan them in our art books. Everyone did a few drafts. Then it was time to start painting. We had to do two base coats. I did mine orange. Next we had to put our pattern on. Mine was quite simple it was just a ying yang in the middle of my cross. I chose a ying yang because it is a symbol of peace and balance.  All I had to do was paint two coats of white in a circle then put the lines in with vivid. Here is a picture of my finished cross.

Author visit

Today we had an author visit. The author that visited us was Raymond Huber. The reason he visited us was because he is taking part in the Storylines book tour. He has written lots of books including Flight of the Honey Bee, Sting, Wings, Gecko and Peace Warriors. I have read a few of his books. He talked to us about his books and he also talked to us about how he writes his books. It was really fun and I can wait for the next author visit.

My Feather

Today we decorated a paper feather each. We put them together so it would make a korowai, which is a cloak made out of feathers. We did it because this week is Social Justice Week.  I coloured mine blue and purple.  The two colours mixed really well because I used pencil not felt. We also had to write a word about social justice on our feather I wrote different because everyone is different.  It looked really cool when we put it together. Here is a picture of the korowai.