Hi All,
Thank you again to everyone who gave us tips re spending a day at Tiri Tiri
Matangi. We enjoyed a sensational day out there at the beginning of September
under a bright, sunny sky with no wind.
Here are a few of the highlights:
- We saw two Kokako on the Wattle Trail and heard them both calling. I did
manage to get a couple of pics of these incredible birds so if anyone is
interested in images, please email me.- Gregory the portly Takahe. The avian
equivalent to Rumpole of the Old Bailey but with way fewer table manners,
Gregory delights himself at lunch each day on Tiri Tiri, inviting himself to
guest's sandwiches which he steals right out of their hands and mouths. Very
naughty. He got a bit territorial over his midday sangas at a point where
another Takahe decided to visit. This threw him into a fit of feather
fluffing, ruffled chest and foot stomping in order to defend his position at
the lunch area. He was quite entertaining to watch.- The abundance of native
plants emitted a fragrance I hadn't previously experienced in NZ forests - it
was wonderful.- The sheer numbers of native birds on Tiri Tiri made my visit
to Motuara in Queen Charlotte sound pale in comparison. We ended up losing
track of some of the numbers of birds we saw.- A number of feeders have been
set up around Tiri Tiri to counter the lack of flowering blossoms. At one
feeder we came across a Stitchbird who we thought was being a bit of a glutton.
He not only commanded the best spot but scared other birds away from it so he
could get the most, first. It was great to watch if a bit frustrating as I
really wanted to photograph him without the grid lines of the feeder but he won
out over me in the patience stakes. There was just no way he was going to risk
losing his spot on the feeder.- One of the most plentiful birds we saw were
Tuis. We must have hit them at the right time of year as we encountered quite
a number of them doing display flights over the island which was spectacular to
watch.- Until Tiri Tiri I had only seen sporadic single NZ Saddlebacks. Tiri
Tiri has many and they are all over the island. The oddest thing we noticed
with the Saddlebacks occurred when we saw two foraging in the seaweed at the
high tide mark. We wondered what they might have been looking for in there.-
At lunchtime we noticed a Pukeko using its foot to feed like a parrot -
something that was new to me.- A NZ forest alive with birdsong - it was simply
a delight to sit in the middle of it and just listen.
So without further ado, here is a birdlist of the species we saw:
Ferry Trip
Kelp Gull (9)
Pied Shag (2)
Black Shag (2)
Red-billed Gull (17)
Common Diving Petrel (12)
White-fronted Tern (3)
Welcome Swallow (4)
Australasian Gannet (40+)
Island
Tui (300+)
Saddleback (30+)
Whitehead (22) - Wattle Track
Stitchbird (11) - Kawerau Track
Kokako (2) - Wattle Track
New Zealand Pigeon (1) - Wattle Track
Variable Oystercatcher (4)
Kelp Gull (2)
Red-billed Gull (6)
Little Penguin (2)
North Island Robin (2) - both Wattle and Kawerau Tracks
Red-crowned Parakeet (5)
Pukeko (16)
Takahe (2)
Welcome Swallow (6)
Bellbird (400+)
Fantail (30+)
Tiri Tiri is highly
_________________________________________________________________
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