Our predator trapping is working. Sitting ( having a cuppa) watching the cidery trees, we spotted a pair of rifleman foraging through. Never having seen them at the cidery before, we are 5km from the bush line in mixed agricultural pasture, I was sceptical at first but for the short tail and tiny size, and short flitting flight. Once common there are only fragment populations left in the bush due to predation. We must put out nest boxes for them. The entrance holes need to be only 20mm! They are an endemic NZ wren like bird that is insectivorous and loves to lift lichen and moss off trees to get to the insects. It’s Māori name is Tītitipounamu. Titipounamu is a derivative of two words: “tītiti” which means “a mirage or vision of”, and “pounamu”, which is greenstone, referencing their greenish plumage. #orchard #NZ #Aotearoa #conservation #rifleman #ornithology