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Touring New Zealand (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Maroon Jay
- Start date
Maroon Jay
Airborne
Thank you Frogfish.
Today I went for a walk in the woods to look for birds. After walking for one and a half hours, I had not seen a single bird except some House Sparrows and Blackbirds around the parking lot.
When I got back, I happened to see a conservation officer and I asked him about it. He said that the entire area had been mostly wiped out by rats and opossums. He said that they put poison bait traps along the trail about every 50 metres which is the home range of a rat. But the animals reproduce faster than they can kill them. Short of building an expensive fence, like the one at Zealandia, around every patch of woods, it seems to be a losing battle.
I was amazed at the amount of opossums that they took out of Zealandia valley. Three tonnes! I don’t know how many opossum are in a tonne but it must be a lot. This is in addition to 12 species of smaller animals such as rats and weasels.
I passed some small streams but no sign of any ducks. The North American Mallard is now the most common duck in New Zealand. Native ducks, like the Brown Teal are rare. North American and European birds have evolved to cope with predators and have nesting strategies to avoid them. New Zealand’s birds have not had time to adjust to the invasion. Some of them, like the Kiwi and the Takahe cannot even fly.
Some areas are worse than others but it seems like the only safe place for birds are small pest-free islands and wildlife sanctuaries like Zealandia. Zealandia is a paradise surrounded by a forest of devastation. It is a sadness that this has happened to New Zealand’s birds.
Today I went for a walk in the woods to look for birds. After walking for one and a half hours, I had not seen a single bird except some House Sparrows and Blackbirds around the parking lot.
When I got back, I happened to see a conservation officer and I asked him about it. He said that the entire area had been mostly wiped out by rats and opossums. He said that they put poison bait traps along the trail about every 50 metres which is the home range of a rat. But the animals reproduce faster than they can kill them. Short of building an expensive fence, like the one at Zealandia, around every patch of woods, it seems to be a losing battle.
I was amazed at the amount of opossums that they took out of Zealandia valley. Three tonnes! I don’t know how many opossum are in a tonne but it must be a lot. This is in addition to 12 species of smaller animals such as rats and weasels.
I passed some small streams but no sign of any ducks. The North American Mallard is now the most common duck in New Zealand. Native ducks, like the Brown Teal are rare. North American and European birds have evolved to cope with predators and have nesting strategies to avoid them. New Zealand’s birds have not had time to adjust to the invasion. Some of them, like the Kiwi and the Takahe cannot even fly.
Some areas are worse than others but it seems like the only safe place for birds are small pest-free islands and wildlife sanctuaries like Zealandia. Zealandia is a paradise surrounded by a forest of devastation. It is a sadness that this has happened to New Zealand’s birds.
Chlidonias
Well-known member
roughly three hundred
Maroon Jay
Airborne
I am now on the South Island. Birds seen in the southern half of the North Island. (just new birds not counting repeats): endemics: Kaka, Weta, Takahe, Brown Teal, and Red-crowned Parakeet. Native birds not endemic: NZ Pipit (although called the New Zealand Pipit, it can also be seen in Australia according to my guide book). Introduced: Mute Swan and Greylag Goose. Total 62 new lifers in New Zealand so far. The middle and bottom portions of the North Island were not as productive as the top third
MJB
Well-known member
MJ, NZ Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae is recognised in IOC v3.3 as separate from Australian Pipit A. australis, and so it is endemic to the NZ archipelago.
NZ Pipit has 5 subspecies, reischeki (North Island), novaeseelandiae (South Island), chathamensis (Chatham Island), aucklandicus (Auckland Islands) and steindachneri (Antipodes Islands).
MJB
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Maroon Jay
Airborne
You are correct MJB, IOC lists them as separate species. My guidebook and several internet sources list them as a single species. Is this a recent split? My guidebook was published in 2011 (Field Guide to the Birds of NZ). Why the difference?
Chlidonias
Well-known member
Anthus novaeseelandiae was a very widespread species but was fairly recently split into multiple species. The NZ and Australian pipits are variously split or lumped. I personally don't split the NZ pipit as a distinct species. As usual with splitting/lumping, do what you think best: it's your list.
If the field-guide you're using is the Fitter one, it's pretty rubbish. If it's the Heather and Robertson one, it has had reprints but no updates.
Maroon Jay
Airborne
I have the Fitter and Merton book. I have found other mistakes in it also. It says the Takahe is not an endemic NZ bird. Mostly I just use it for ID and then look up the bird on the internet for more inforamtion, not relying on the book as my sole source. That is what I did with the NZ Pipit and found Wikipedia saying that it could be found as far away an New Guinea. When I get disputed information like this, I go with the IOC checklist.
Maroon Jay
Airborne
I have found an excellent little booklet called New Zealand Birding Guide. This 50 page booklet lists all the birding tour operators in NZ with a description of their tours, their website and contact info. It also lists a few accommodaton places for accommodation and tour combos or accommodation in birding hotspots. This publication is free but it is not displayed in the rack of tourist brochures that is available in every campground, hotel, and tourist info office. They keep it under the counter and you will have to ask for it. Ask around until you find one if you want to do any guided bird tours. It is worth having.
davidg
Well-known member
Hi Maroon Jay,
The leaflet is also online and can be downloaded for free:
http://www.birdingnz.co.nz/Bird-Directory.pdf
Only a few days before we set off for NZ - first stop due to be Mangere sometime next Monday!
David
Maroon Jay
Airborne
Keep in touch David and let me know what you find. Tom
davidg
Well-known member
Hi Tom,
I'll only have my smartphone and occasional wifi access but I'll try and update my thread on here as and when I can.
David
Maroon Jay
Airborne
At Picton there is a tour to see the King Shag (aka Rough-faced Shag). This bird lives only in the Queen Charlotte Sound and there are only about 600 or so of them. The tour is $115 which is a fair price as it is a 4.5 hour tour. However, I decided to pass on it. I did not feel, at this time, like spending $115 to see one species of cormorant. There are several other similar cormorants around NZ, mostly at remote islands. I will have another chance to go on this tour when I get back to Picton. I am driving around the coast of the South Island and will be back in Picton as my last stop before taking the ferry back to the North Island. I might change my mind and go on this tour then. I shall see how the money goes. There are several other tours that I want to go on and cant afford them all. After Picton, I went to Havelock which is only 37 km away. There is a good walk here on a path that juts out into the estuary. Here I saw the Double-banded Plover (Banded Dotterel). There were easy to find. I saw about 15 of them. There are also Royal Spoonbills, South Island Oystercatchers and other birds that I had seen before. If you want to see the Double-banded Plover, this is a good place to look.
Chlidonias
Well-known member
the king shag tours don't go all year round, so if you do want to do it, might be an idea to check their website to make sure your return trip isn't outside their season.
Maroon Jay
Airborne
I did check that. They go until the end of April.
davidg
Well-known member
Hi Tom,
Whilst I'll be in the area for a couple of days towards the end of my trip I won't have the time for a half-day trip to see King Shag. Have you come across anyone that offers a shorter trip? I assume there's nowhere that these birds can be seen from the mainland?
We're off in less than 24 hours so I'm at the stage where I'm wondering what it is that I've forgotten!
David
Maroon Jay
Airborne
The King Shags are on an island that is far from Picton. I don't think you will find a tour to go there in less than four hours. But you could ask around if there is someone with a boat that might take you on a quick trip.
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Maroon Jay
Airborne
I went to see the Fur Seal colony today near Westport. Wekas there are common and very tame.
Maroon Jay
Airborne
I have passed up on two more tours at the Okarito Lagoon on the west coast. The first was a tour to see the so-called rare great white heron. Internationally it is known as the Great Egret. It has a worldwide population of more than 2 million. It is very common in southern USA and Mexico and I have seen hundreds of them. They are somewhat rare in NZ with only 200 birds living here and only around the Okarito Lagoon. The bird is featured on the NZ $2 coin. There is a bird called a Great White Heron. It is a white morph of the Great Blue Heron and is found in Florida and the Caribbean. The tour cost $120 but there are other options. There is a sightseeing tour of the lagoon for $85. This is not a birding tour but you would probably see them. You can also rent a kayak for $55 per half day or $65 for a whole day.
The second tour I passed was a nocturnal tour to see the Okarito Kiwi. There are five species of kiwi. I saw the Brown Kiwi in Northland. The kiwis are only slightly different and I am sure that I would not be able to tell the difference in the dark. As I thought that I would not be able to see it well enough to ID it, I decided to pass. The tour cost $75. The tour to see the Brown Kiwi was only $20. The Okarito Kiwi could be ID'd simply by location as there are no other kiwis in the area but I decided not to spend $75 on a bird that I could not see that well in the dark. The Okarito is the rarest of the kiwis with only about 250 birds or so and only in the Okarito area. There is a campground there and there is a fair chance that you could find the kiwi on your own without a guide.
The Fernbird is supposed to be common around the trailhead in the town. I searched there for a while but didnt see any. Anyone know a good spot for Fernbirds?
I am looking forward to seeing penguins and Albatross and other Pelagic birds. I think I will have much better birding further south and on the trip north on the other side of the island.
The second tour I passed was a nocturnal tour to see the Okarito Kiwi. There are five species of kiwi. I saw the Brown Kiwi in Northland. The kiwis are only slightly different and I am sure that I would not be able to tell the difference in the dark. As I thought that I would not be able to see it well enough to ID it, I decided to pass. The tour cost $75. The tour to see the Brown Kiwi was only $20. The Okarito Kiwi could be ID'd simply by location as there are no other kiwis in the area but I decided not to spend $75 on a bird that I could not see that well in the dark. The Okarito is the rarest of the kiwis with only about 250 birds or so and only in the Okarito area. There is a campground there and there is a fair chance that you could find the kiwi on your own without a guide.
The Fernbird is supposed to be common around the trailhead in the town. I searched there for a while but didnt see any. Anyone know a good spot for Fernbirds?
I am looking forward to seeing penguins and Albatross and other Pelagic birds. I think I will have much better birding further south and on the trip north on the other side of the island.
Chlidonias
Well-known member
I just found out that the Dolphin Watch Ecotours can apparently drop you off on Blumine Island (rather than Motuara Island), where there are orange-fronted kakariki. Might be worth checking with them about that if you are planning on doing a trip with them.
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