Sharing a car for 4 weeks with my non-birding wife, daughter, son-in-law and assorted luggage put paid to carrying a telescope so expectations were not high.
However, we started off very well on a far too brief two night stopover in Singapore with a Pacific Swallow on the window sill of the hotel room, a yet to identify kingfisher type species, a Black-naped Oriole in the main shopping street and an Olive-backed Sunbird in the Botanical Gardens.
There was great excitement in New Zealand with the first views of Australasian Harrier, Pukeko, Paradise Shelduck, Red-billed Gull, White-faced Heron, Kingfisher, Tui and Spur-winged Plover. The latter was described by my wife as a lapwing with yellow plastic stuck on its face. Although these soon became common sightings, or “10 a penny round here” according to one local, we still appreciated them.
Tiritiri Matangi Island, near Auckland, is a treat and a must do, with endemic species protected from imported predators. The Takahe, like a giant moorhen on steroids, is very impressive … and fearless. Less easily seen was the Kokako, but worth waiting for. First sightings of Bellbird, Stitchbird and Saddleback were obtained on a long walk through the forested area. Some were then easily photographed on the bird feeders at the café! A pair of rare Brown Teal are resident on a pond near the jetty, and a Spotless Crake brought its young to the same pond.
Fortune really smiled when we called at Miranda that evening in search for the Wrybill. The tide was well up and there were well over a thousand small waders which, I was astonished to find, turned out to be Wrybills. When I had calmed down I was able to identify other wader species through my bins and then confirmed them later with the assistance of the warden and his telescope.
On to the main South Island, and looking for Yellowhead, I found a ranger instead who advised that they were now almost, if not completely, extinct in the area. Several days and many miles later I found out from a motel owner, as we were leaving, that her son protected a breeding population, but, no time left. Lesson is, talk to locals as guide books can be out of date very quickly in this new and changing land.
However, a comment to my son-in-law that a very small bird might be found in the forest we were walking through led him to ask “like that one over there?” and, yes, it was the Rifleman! I’ll make a birder out of him yet! On another long walk, or tramp as they are called in NZ, confusion over which path to take resulted in two good sightings of Weka, well and truly out in the wilds. Having seen the acreage of forests and paucity of roads and people I can understand how this and other species were thought to be extinct in some areas, only to be found later breeding on happily.
Night time walks produced Kiwi calls and the unforgettable sounds of them scurrying through the undergrowth, but no sighting. These wild sounds though were infinitely preferable to the sight of mentally disturbed kiwis on show in a nocturnal house. We also caught the sound of a small owl species called Morepork with the unforgettable lyrics of ‘more-pork’.
Our visit was timed too late for penguins in quantity but we did see individual Blue and Yellow-eyed Penguins swimming in the sea off the Otago Peninsular, and 2 Yellow-eyed Penguins were patiently waiting on rocks to complete their 3 week moult. These were viewed from a wildlife boat trip we took where we were the only passengers. With this freedom we were able to chase Albatross and Shearwater species out at sea with staff who could confidently identify them. This was a big jump from the formal and expensive whale trip taken some days earlier at a different site, where one of the wildlife finders sincerely helped me identify albatross species by “albatross are the large ones and the smaller ones are Mollymawks”. He was very good with sperm whales though, as they were as big as the boat!
No report from NZ is complete without the cheeky parrot style Kea, first seen in a car park guarding the entrance to the toilets and specialising in car aerial and window rubber removal. The similar Kaka were very friendly individuals and we were treated to a display by a group of 17 at Homers Tunnel on the road to Milford Sound. Scenery, thermal areas, glaciers, volcanoes, mountains and fiords require a report all of their own but, whether you are specifically birding or just looking and experiencing on a non-birding adventure, you cannot fail to see and enjoy both landscape and birds, and NZ is a very rewarding country to visit.
I recorded excellent close views of 106 species and, really, only regret not chasing the yellowhead and kiwi species. NZ trip list:
Brown Kiwi [heard only]. Great Crested Grebe. NZ Dabchick. Royal Albatross [Northern]. Bullers Mollymawk. NZ White-capped Shy Mollymawk. Bullers, Sooty, Fleshfooted and Fluttering Shearwaters. Westland and Black Winged Petrels. Cape Pigeon. Blue and Yellow-eyed Penguins. Australian Gannet. Black, Pied, Little Black, Little, Stewart Island and Spotted Shags. White, White Faced and Reef Herons. Royal Spoonbill. Black Swan. Canada and Feral Goose, Paradise Shelduck. Australasian Shoveler. Mallard. Grey Duck. Brown and Grey Teals. NZ Scaup. Australasian Harrier. Black Kite. Wild Turkey. California Quail. Weka. Takahe. Pukeko. Spotless Crake. Coot. Pied and Variable Oystercatchers. Spur-winged Plover. Pied Stilt. Banded, NZ and Large Sand Dotterels. Lesser Knot. Wrybill. Turnstone. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Red-necked Stint. Bar-tailed Godwit. Siberian Tattler. Arctic Skua. Black-backed, Red-billed and Black-billed Gulls. Caspian and White-fronted Terns. NZ and Rock Pigeons. Barbary and Spotted Doves. Kea. Kaka. Eastern Rosella. Yellow and Red-crowned Parakeets. Morepork. Kingfisher. Welcome Swallow. Rifleman. Silvereye. Grey Warbler. Blackbird. Song Thrush. Skylark. Dunnock. NZ Pipit. Brown Creeper. Whitehead. Fantail. Tomtit [N and S Island races]. NZ Robin [N and S Island races]. Kokako. Tui. Stitchbird. Bellbird. Saddleback. Chaffinch. House Sparrow. Redpoll. Goldfinch. Greenfinch. Yellowhammer. Starling. Myna. Australian Magpie. Rook.