SUMMARY: A VISUAL FEAST
Just back from 4.5 weeks in New Zealand. Did lots of birding but also gawped
at the superb scenery which (in various areas)
is truly breathtaking.
Rather than my usual big chronological diary of my trips, this will be a
(relatively) short (if that is possible) email of
the birds sorted by general grouping. If anyone has any queries about birds,
locations, walks etc. please feel free to write
to me.
KIWIS
Brown Kiwi seen Stewart Island; Little Spotted Kiwi on Kapiti Island. These
birds don't just roam around pecking at the
ground - they very actively forage, turning over leaves and poking into the
ground with their bill. Lovely. Tiny eye for a
night bird - they depend on smell more.
WATERBIRDS/DUCKS - ENDEMICS
Searched many lakes etc. for NZ Dabchick, but did not see it until my last day,
on a water treatment pond.
Blue Duck - found within 1 minute right where I was advised it would be at
Monkey Creek. Just one bird roosting on rocks
next to the creek and needed the telescope to see it properly. Many NZ rivers
and creeks/streams had fast flowing water,
with a base and shores of rounded rocks/boulders - Consequently they don't
actually have many waterbird species.
New Zealand Scaup - a good looking bird, more common in the South Island.
Brown Teal - a myth bird.
WATERBIRDS/DUCKS - OTHER
Great Crested Grebe at Ohau
White-faced Herons pretty common.
One dark-phase Reef Heron at Picton.
Royal Spoonbills - 2 places only: Karitane near Dunedin, and 11 which are
fairly common on Kapiti Island.
Black Swan: many on the aptly named Swan Lagoon, Ohau. Also Taupo
Canada Goose - Swan Lagoon and a couple of other places. These are fine
looking birds with their white face marking against
a black head and neck.
Pacific Black Duck - sadly, it's quite a challenge to locate a proper
full-breed PBD in NZ. Huge numbers of the bird are
actually hybrids with Mallards, as demonstrated by yellow bills, bright orange
legs or a green sheen through the head. I
suspect that they are hybridising with Paradise Shelducks also as I saw "PBDs"
with white through the head, or the bronze
shelduck sheen. The Paradise Shelduck is beautiful if you can get close to see
the intricate markings in the feathers.
Ducks shy as there is still a hunting season in NZ.
Australasian Shoveler - Ohau and Shakespear Regional Park (near Auckland)
including 2 immatures.
Grey Teal here and there.
Purple Swamphen here and there including on grassed park lawns.
Coot - South Island at Omarama and Rotorua.
SEABIRDS
Kaikoura Pelagic fantastic. 20 minutes and you're already at the edge of the
continental shelf, and the birds come VERY
close. A big swell, rain and I got seasick yet again, but worth it. The
following birds were seen on the pelagic (plus
other places as sometimes noted below):
Royal Albatross (plus Dunedin)
Wandering Albatross-race gibsoni
Shy Mollymawk-race salvini (Shy also seen Stewart Island)
Black-browed Mollymawk
Northern Giant Petrel - brilliant close views of three of these large birds
Buller's Shearwater (plus 1 off Tiritiri Matangi Island)
Sooty Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater and Hutton's Shearwater - Have seen
these before in Australia, but the views here
were great, with the birds sitting on the water right next to the boat and
flying close.
White-chinned and Westland Petrels
Cape Petrel - far more aggressive for the burley and closer to the boat than on
Australian pelagics
Australasian Gannet
Others:
Buller's Mollymawk - Stewart Island
Fluttering Shearwater - Marlborough Sound. Ditto comment re Hutton's.
Yellow-eyed Penguin - brilliant views as they swam around our boat through
clear water (Stewart Island), and then popped up
to float right next to the boat. Oh wow. I saw these on a fishing trip as
there were no pelagics available (no fishing was
undertaken near the penguin area). Even the non-birdos got excited about the
penguins "right there". Also saw amazing
jellyfish, one a real monster.
Blue Penguin - various places around NZ with Stewart Island the easiest, with
many actively floating around and foraging,
close to shore and visible from land even during the day
Arctic Skua at Picton, Brown Skua at Stewart Island
Black-backed Gull - our Kelp Gull. Everywhere. Very strange to see a "sea"
gull not just near sea water but also in
ploughed fields, on farm fences and in alpine areas flying past you as you look
at snow-capped mountains! A huge bird and
often calling noisily, reminiscent of the background gull calls in English
seaside movies.
Red-billed Gull - our Silver Gull. Not as widespread as one might have thought.
Black-billed Gull - endemic - seen only at Queenstown
Caspian Tern - 1 at Thames and 4 at Miranda
White-fronted Tern - a pretty tern, a clean white slim-lined bird in flight
Black-fronted Tern - endemic, grassy paddock at Clay Cliffs
CORMORANTS / SHAGS
We call them cormorants - over there they're shags. Saw all the "Australian"
ones. Interestingly, the Little Pied Cormorant
has various phases in NZ where you can see them all black but with a white
face, or black with white face and lower belly.
This causes you to do a "double take" as you think through "what is that bird?".
Also saw the main three endemics: Spotted Shag, King Shag and Stewart Island
Shag (which has an all dark phase so once again
have to check carefully). Mainly on rocky outcrops surrounded by water, -
these birds are shy and wary.
RAPTORS and OWLS and other hunters
Alas, only one raptor species seen, being the Swamp Harrier just about
everywhere, and mainly immatures. Of the many birds
seen, only 2 were adults.
NZ Falcon (endemic) unfortunately not seen (one possible on Kapiti Island but I
was 2 metres away from my binoculars and was
too late to be sure. Ho hum).
Little Owl - 2 in Queens Park, Invercargill. Not seen in the evening of
arrival, but next morning they were out sunning
themselves and the chattering of Blackbirds gave their presence away. A pretty
bird.
Morepork (our Boobook Owl) heard but never seen. Their call is a more drawn
out "moor poor" with a hint of a trilling
sometimes, compared to Australian's shorter "oo oo".
Sacred Kingfisher - in a few places near water.
BUSH BIRDS - ENDEMIC
Kereru or New Zealand Pigeon - terrific bird, huge, and clambers heavily about
the forest, but can also fly expertly when it
wants. Important for NZ as it's about the biggest/only bird that can eat and
hence distribute whole seeds of plants, now
that Moa are gone. Luminous green, blue and purple as they change angles in
the sun. On Kapiti Island, they loved to sit
around for lengthy periods and happily sat in the open on dead branches, giving
wonderful views.
Long-tailed Cuckoo - heard but never seen. (Teeth gnashing here)
Rifleman - seen a few times including Lake Gunn, Mt. Cook and Gunns Bush. Lake
Moke was a surprise as the birds were in
lantana style scrub next to a farm dam. Said to be NZ's smallest bird - it has
no tail - but it is dumpy and fat. The Grey
Warbler is also a tiny bird, with a tail and more streamlined in shape. Lovely
calling and pretty common, though the size
means you may have to work at seeing it as it flits through the trees.
Brown Creeper - only seen Stewart Island and you had to be quick!
Whitehead - plenty on Kapiti Island and in just one place on Tiritiri Matangi.
Active and noisy as they forage, but do stop
long enough for you to get good views of this cute bird with its big black eye
surrounded by white or off-white.
Tomtit - little sweeties seen both south and north.
New Zealand Robin - ditto, with many fearlessly approaching closely, probably
hoping you'll disturb and reveal bugs and
worms. Kapiti, Tiritiri Matangi and Pureora birds far more timid.
Kokako - scoured Pureora for hours without success (plus other areas). Heard
at 9.45am on Kapiti. Ridiculously easy to see
on Tiritiri Matangi where they bred this year and coincidentally had a nest
near an observation deck. Much calling even at
11am and a delight to set and listen to them, and watch them fluttering wings
with each call.
Tui - great plumage. Aggressive and chased other birds. Bellbird - next down
in the pecking order - Tui chased Bellbird,
and Bellbird chased Stitchbird, which is bigger but obviously has a gentler
disposition.
Saddleback - Motuara Island and Tiritiri Matangi, actively foraging either on
treetrunks and poking under bark, or vigorously
on the ground turning over not just leaves but sizeable branches. Bathed on
Tiri - a great sight.
Unfortunately, I cannot list Yellowhead - I never saw it. While in NZ, the
newspapers reported the Mt. Stokes population of
27 as having been wiped out. Even though this population was in the endangered
category, it appears there was virtually no
monitoring or assistance given to them, as one year ago there were 27 birds,
and now none, and it's not known why (they
assumed it was rats - which is a big acknowledged problem but I wondered
whether it was too "easy" an "excuse").
I also didn't see the Rock Wren even though I was in a number of alpine areas.
There were plenty of similar birds at Lake
Gunn, a stated location for Rock Wren, but they were all Rifleman.
BUSH BIRDS - OTHER
California Quail - what a great bird. Ignoring the funny plume, the
combination of brown, white and grey is gorgeous, with
the scalloping on the breast a delight. At Picton, saw an adult male with 7
chicks, all of which were capable of flying up a
steep embankment.
Brown Quail on Tiritiri Matangi - easy to see on tracks, amongst leaf little
and drinking from the small pond.
Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, thankfully only in 3 places
Welcome Swallow. Australia's swallow is Hirundo neoxena, whereas NZ's is
Hirundo tahitica, the Pacific Swallow. Appear
pretty much the same in flight, but when perched, the NZ swallow is longer,
particularly through the vent area, as if an
extra "section" has been added between the body and the tail. A heart-warming
sight was of several immatures at Shakespear
Regional Park flying over a pond and apparently practicing dipping down to the
water and flying up again, as they tentatively
got closer and closer to the water's surface.
Silvereyes - here and there
Saw virtually all of the other introductions - Blackbirds and Song Thrush
everywhere (very thick on the ground at
Invercargill), Dunnock pretty, Skylark Manapouri and Miranda, Pipit, House
Sparrow zillions at Thames and Manly, Chaffinch in
manicured parks and some native bush, Redpoll and Greenfinch only in parks and
farm/developed areas, European Goldfinches but
not common, Yellowhammer widely spread in farm/developed areas. Starlings
thankfully few, ditto Common Mynas though huge
numbers at Thames, and Australian Magpies here and there for a touch of "home".
Grey Fantail - plenty, with lots of white in the tail. Never saw the all black
phase.
PARROTS
Keas monstored my car at Homer Tunnel. Yes, they're very charming when you
first see them and can get right up to take
photos. This just lulls you stupidly. I went for a walk to the glacier near
here, and even from a distance I could see 2 on
the car and by the time I returned they had chomped into rubber around the
windscreen and wiper housing. As they have no
fear and are quite brazen, it's quite hard to shoosh them away from your car.
By then, they have lost their charm.
Kaka - a similar bird to Kea in looks, far gentler and friendlier, however I
believe it wouldn't take much for these birds to
also get too cheeky and brazen. On Kapiti Island, they came morning and night
for food, entered the house when you're back
is turned, are smart enough and strong enough to lift the cover off the fruit
bowl to get at the fruit, and chomped into
wooden doors and window sills as if sulking if you didn't feed them. I could
easily see behavioural problems if you
encouraged them too much.
Red-crowned Parakeet (with bright red eye) and Yellow-crowned Parakeet. Great
little birds of rainforest / beech / other
forest, with a lovely chatter when they're flying. Being grass green, you
sometimes didn't see them until they burst out of
grassland or bush at your feet.
All the above endemic.
Eastern Rosellas - 2 places, near eucalypts. Just like home!
CRAKES & RAILS
Weka (endemic) seen on Kapiti and Stewart Islands and Picton. Funny little
tail, pretty forward at begging for food - or
simply rummaging through your backpack and taking it from you. (They've taken
a small camera on Kapiti and it was never
found). Nice to see them "truly native" in forests and foraging for themselves.
Buff-banded Rail at Maketu, being 2 adults and 5 chicks swimming in shallow
water and walking on mudflats. A lovely sight.
Spotless Crake - I've never seen this bird in Australia despite 13 years of
birdwatching (don't laugh), but finally had
wonderful views of 2 at the pond on Tiritiri Matangi foraging and bathing. (I
said stop laughing).
TAKAHE - endemic - Said to be birds of marsh/swamps and open water but never
seen in this type of habitat. The only places
where I saw this bird (rediscovered after being thought extinct) was the island
bird sanctuaries of Tiritiri Matangi with
revegetating bushland (and only 1 small pond and 1 small dam), and Kapiti
Island with grassland, drier bush and wetter forest
(minor creek and one lagoon). Saw six week old chicks which give themselves
away with their begging.
A side note: despite all the hoo-ha about rats, stoats etc. in NZ, and the
"promotion" that Kapiti and Tiritiri Matangi are
predator free, the supposed publicised search of your luggage to ensure the
prevention of introducing new rats/predators was
non-existent. I was disgusted at this. These islands are rocky and with
difficult terrain in some parts - having to conduct
new eradication programmes would be very expensive, and of course any new
predators on these islands would have a disastrous
effect on the bird populations. Considering NZ's promotion of a clean and
green environment and a slogan of "we care" about
protecting endangered birds, the lack of proper checking for predators was
unacceptable. And this isn't just about birds:
it was almost impossible to find any lizards, grasshoppers /wetas, spiders or
other wildlife also.
WADERS - ENDEMIC
Pied Oystercatcher and Variable Oystercatcher. Plenty, including at waterways,
in ploughed fields and on garden/park lawns.
5000 in one group at Thames with the mass of black, white and red bill and eye
one of the visual feasts of this trip.
Black Stilt - yes, yes, yes - I saw 2 of these birds at Lake Benmore. There's
supposedly only about 200 in the wild (but I
suspect there's more when you read about the captive breeding programme and
releases). Also saw Pied/Black stilt hybrids
including at Ohau and I wouldn't be surprised if a Black Stilt could be seen
there sometime).
Wrybill: seen only at one place, Miranda - 580 of them roosting, preening and
walking around a bit. Telescope needed to
properly identify the birds.
New Zealand Dotterel - an endangered species (actually many of NZ's birds are
in this category). Saw 1 pair at Miranda, away
from the other birds, and 1 bird up the road at Kawakawa Bay. Searched Maketu
but no luck - too many fishermen, dogs, people
walking on beaches etc. I think this accounts for the lack of waders at other
sites which looked very suitable for waders in
terms of tidal flow etc. but with people boating/kayaking etc. etc. other areas
did not meet their promising look, whereas
Miranda is basically away from holiday and recreational areas.
WADERS - OTHER
Masked Lapwing (Spur-winged Plover) - here and there both North and South
Island.
Pied Stilt - plenty but never in particularly large numbers, perhaps 80 in the
largest group seen.
Miranda on the Firth of Thames is a RAMSAR site and I saw big numbers of
various waders: Double-banded Dotterel, Bar-tailed
Godwit and Red Knot (Lesser Knot).
Ruddy Turnstone at Riverton and just a few other places. Not common.
49 lifers, 2 new sub-species of birds. Plus wonderful orchids. The beech
forest and alpine plants were fascinating.
Mountains awe-inspiring, geo-thermal areas stunning.
A visual feast.
Irene Denton
Concord West, 12 km from Sydney city, NSW Australia
33 50 17 S 151 05 25 E
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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