Indeed they were, tiny little things packed with character
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New Zealand, the Final Frontier, 2019-2020 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Jos Stratford
- Start date
Indeed they were, tiny little things packed with character
I thought so too 😊
26 December. Otago Peninsula & Nugget Point.
Fairly easy-going day, mainly seawatching at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula and at Nugget Point, dodging showers and getting a few butterflies in the occasional sunny spell.
Taiaroa Head, best known for the only mainland colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses in the world, was excellent - a mass of breeding Red-billed Gulls all around the car park, then a treat of albatrosses offshore, a grand total of six species, I managed both Northern and Southern Royal Albatrosses (six and 14 respectively), plus three Gibson's Wandering Albatrosses, a bunch of White-capped Albatrosses, one Salvin's Albatrosses and, new for the trip, three Buller's Albatrosses. Not bad! Also one Northern Giant Petrel, one Hutton's Shearwater and moderately common Sooty Shearwaters further offshore.
About 120 km to the south, seawatching at Nugget Point got delayed by a half-hour spell of sunny weather on arrival ...signal for me to look for butterflies. Not bad results (for New Zealand) - four species, plentiful Coastal Coppers on the cliff edge, a dozen of so Common Tussocks on grassy slopes, one fly-by New Zealand Red Admiral and, completing the set, one Small White.
As cloud returned, back to birding I went - colonies of Otago Shags, Spotted Shags and Royal Spoonbills on rock stacks, plus a reasonable bunch of birds on the sea, not least a minimum of 25 White-capped Albatrosses, one Gibson's Wandering Albatross and two Southern Royal Albatrosses, along with masses of Sooty Shearwaters, one Hutton's Shearwater, singles of White-chinned Petrel and Cape Petrel and, rather pleasing, seven Little Blue Penguins bobbing about and an impressive 30 or so Northern Giant Petrels. Eight Arctic Skuas also.
To complete the day, I popped down to the hide overlooking a beach just short of Nugget Point - as the sun set, Yellow-eyed Penguins up onto the beach and one Pacific Reef Heron on rocks at the edge of the bay.
Fairly easy-going day, mainly seawatching at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula and at Nugget Point, dodging showers and getting a few butterflies in the occasional sunny spell.
Taiaroa Head, best known for the only mainland colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses in the world, was excellent - a mass of breeding Red-billed Gulls all around the car park, then a treat of albatrosses offshore, a grand total of six species, I managed both Northern and Southern Royal Albatrosses (six and 14 respectively), plus three Gibson's Wandering Albatrosses, a bunch of White-capped Albatrosses, one Salvin's Albatrosses and, new for the trip, three Buller's Albatrosses. Not bad! Also one Northern Giant Petrel, one Hutton's Shearwater and moderately common Sooty Shearwaters further offshore.
About 120 km to the south, seawatching at Nugget Point got delayed by a half-hour spell of sunny weather on arrival ...signal for me to look for butterflies. Not bad results (for New Zealand) - four species, plentiful Coastal Coppers on the cliff edge, a dozen of so Common Tussocks on grassy slopes, one fly-by New Zealand Red Admiral and, completing the set, one Small White.
As cloud returned, back to birding I went - colonies of Otago Shags, Spotted Shags and Royal Spoonbills on rock stacks, plus a reasonable bunch of birds on the sea, not least a minimum of 25 White-capped Albatrosses, one Gibson's Wandering Albatross and two Southern Royal Albatrosses, along with masses of Sooty Shearwaters, one Hutton's Shearwater, singles of White-chinned Petrel and Cape Petrel and, rather pleasing, seven Little Blue Penguins bobbing about and an impressive 30 or so Northern Giant Petrels. Eight Arctic Skuas also.
To complete the day, I popped down to the hide overlooking a beach just short of Nugget Point - as the sun set, Yellow-eyed Penguins up onto the beach and one Pacific Reef Heron on rocks at the edge of the bay.
👍👍👍
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
I've wanted to visit Taiaroa Head since reading Gerald Durrell's book in which covered his visit to New Zealand, but there are so many highlights. Hedgehogs and harriers, the stunning Black Stilt plus the Kaikoura pelagic all in just a couple of days. Think I'd have blown a fuse!
Cheers
Mike
Cheers
Mike
Copy that (Gerald Durrell). I was lucky enough to go to New Zealand inc. Taiaroa although I never saw all the riches listed here (and this was long before many of the albatross splits). A highlight for me was meeting Don Merton. Alas, it was the wrong time of year for butterflies
27 December. Invercargill.
Didn't have much planned for this day, did even less due to rain for half the day! Started on a high however, with a speculative trip to Awarua Bay producing a hoped-for Australian Gull-billed Tern. First ever breeding record for New Zealand, I didn't know the locality, but did know they were located on the edge of a Kelp Gull colony – 'find the gulls, so find the tern' was my reckoning. Needed a bit of luck given the vastness of Awarua Bay, but it seems the Gods of Fortune were smiling down – tucked in at the end of the first Kelp Gull colony I found, there was a Gull-billed Tern! A smart bird indeed, even nicer for a Caspian Tern alongside.
Nearby, Turnstones and Variable Oystercatchers on the mudflats, several Banded Dotterels on the shingle, including one bird incubating on a nest. Royal Spoonbills and Australasian Harriers completed the line up.
With that, so started the rain, a gusting wind picking up too. Popped into Invercargill on the off-chance that a party of Australian Shelducks reported a couple of weeks earlier might still be lingering. They weren't, but Tip Lagoon, their chosen home for a few days, was pretty productive nonetheless – hundreds of Black Swans, a mass of assorted ducks (Paradise Shelduck, New Zealand Scaup, Grey Teal, Pacific Black Duck, etc). Also checked the adjacent estuary, still no Australian Shelducks, but before rain stopped play, did note 35 Royal Spoonbills, 150 or so South Island Oystercatchers and a few dozen Bar-tailed Godwits.
By now, a fairly impressive storm was brewing, the wind blowing stuff sideways. Got a phone call that my scheduled pelagic off Stewart Island in a few days was likely cancelled, so sat in my car and sulked till the rain stopped. But stop it did, so I then headed for Bluff Point to see if I could find a few seabirds in the buffeting wind. Bit too windy and very little cover, but did find one little nook to watch for a couple of hours – not a patch on Otago or Nugget Points, but did notch up about 360 Sooty Shearwaters per hour, plus about 15 White-capped Albatrosses and, a nice surprise, one Subantarctic Little Shearwater motoring through at close range.
With the wind showing no sign of abating, quite the opposite, I decided against camping and stayed very close to the Bluff ferry terminal, hopefully my ferry to Stewart Island wouldn't be cancelled next morning!
Didn't have much planned for this day, did even less due to rain for half the day! Started on a high however, with a speculative trip to Awarua Bay producing a hoped-for Australian Gull-billed Tern. First ever breeding record for New Zealand, I didn't know the locality, but did know they were located on the edge of a Kelp Gull colony – 'find the gulls, so find the tern' was my reckoning. Needed a bit of luck given the vastness of Awarua Bay, but it seems the Gods of Fortune were smiling down – tucked in at the end of the first Kelp Gull colony I found, there was a Gull-billed Tern! A smart bird indeed, even nicer for a Caspian Tern alongside.
Nearby, Turnstones and Variable Oystercatchers on the mudflats, several Banded Dotterels on the shingle, including one bird incubating on a nest. Royal Spoonbills and Australasian Harriers completed the line up.
With that, so started the rain, a gusting wind picking up too. Popped into Invercargill on the off-chance that a party of Australian Shelducks reported a couple of weeks earlier might still be lingering. They weren't, but Tip Lagoon, their chosen home for a few days, was pretty productive nonetheless – hundreds of Black Swans, a mass of assorted ducks (Paradise Shelduck, New Zealand Scaup, Grey Teal, Pacific Black Duck, etc). Also checked the adjacent estuary, still no Australian Shelducks, but before rain stopped play, did note 35 Royal Spoonbills, 150 or so South Island Oystercatchers and a few dozen Bar-tailed Godwits.
By now, a fairly impressive storm was brewing, the wind blowing stuff sideways. Got a phone call that my scheduled pelagic off Stewart Island in a few days was likely cancelled, so sat in my car and sulked till the rain stopped. But stop it did, so I then headed for Bluff Point to see if I could find a few seabirds in the buffeting wind. Bit too windy and very little cover, but did find one little nook to watch for a couple of hours – not a patch on Otago or Nugget Points, but did notch up about 360 Sooty Shearwaters per hour, plus about 15 White-capped Albatrosses and, a nice surprise, one Subantarctic Little Shearwater motoring through at close range.
With the wind showing no sign of abating, quite the opposite, I decided against camping and stayed very close to the Bluff ferry terminal, hopefully my ferry to Stewart Island wouldn't be cancelled next morning!
28 December. Stewart Island & Ulva Island.
Given the state of the sea, I was pretty impressed that the ferry was running – this was no large boat, but a small catamaran! But gee, it was a memorable crossing! Had hoped for high winds to bring birds into the Foveaux Strait, but this was really over the top …with waves crashing right over the stern and the boat plunging and rocking, I simply couldn't use binoculars for the first 20 minutes or so, rather frustrating as heaps of birds were battling the sea! About half way across, now slightly sheltered by Stewart Island, it was just about possible to use binoculars by bracing against metal uprights ...and fantastic it was, thousands of Sooty Shearwater effortlessly cutting over the waves and a good bunch of albatrosses likewise looking quite at home (at least 40 White-capped Albatrosses, a single Salvin's Albatross and my only Black-browed Albatross of the trip). Though conditions left many birds unidentified, there were no problems with Common Diving Petrels - wonderful birds, like little humbugs whirring through the great troughs, an absolute minimum of 18 seen. Also three White-chinned Petrels, one Cook's Petrel and, highlight of the crossing, one superb Mottled Petrel right adjacent to the ferry.
Arriving on Stewart Island, a considerable number of passengers looked none too well, but I was well-chuffed. Ever the glutton for punishment, I decided to immediately take a water taxi across to Ulva Island, another very bumpy crossing, albeit a mere 15 minutes.
And so it was, I was now on Ulva Island, quite possibly the single best birding locality in New Zealand in terms of native land species. South Island Robins hopping around my feet, flightless Weka equally tame, flocks of mixed Red-crowned and Yellow-crowned Parakeets, four noisy Kaka ...and this was just the first quarter hour or so! Spent about five hours on the island and it truly was a most enjoyable experience - in dense forest draped in mosses and enhanced by enormous ferns, it was non-stop excellent birds, South Island Robins alone numbered at least 35, while the two parakeets topped minimums of 40 and 10 for Red-crowned and Yellow-crowned respectively. Continuing, it was top quality birds everywhere - flocks of Yellowheads and New Zealand Brown Creepers, several South Island Saddlebacks, a few South Island Tomtits, one Rifleman and, among the more common birds, plenty of Tui, New Zealand Fantails and New Zealand Pigeons.
A pause on a beach not bad too - as well as two inquisitive Weka and a male Tomtit at the beach edge, also had a pair of Variable Oystercatchers with a chick, one Little Blue Penguin offshore and, on the non-bird front, one very impressive New Zealand Sea Lion dominating the sands!
Crossed back to Stewart Island late afternoon, an impressive number of White-capped Albatrosses as I did so. On Stewart Island, having checked into my accommodation, I was now turning my thoughts to evening activities - the hope being my third kiwi species of the trip, Southern Brown Kiwi. At sunset approached, I started off with a quick visit to the town wharf, where Little Blue Penguins promptly performed, clambering up boulders to nests in crannies right adjacent to the jetty. From then on however, things went rather downhill - from darkness at about 10 pm till long into the early hours, I wandered the hinterland of Oban in search of my target. Heard a presumed individual rustling in the undergrowth along Hicks Road, saw both introduced Wild Boar and White-tailed Deer, even had a friendly encounter with the local police at 1.00 am on a lonely road far from town, but as for a kiwi sighting, not even a glimpse! Finally gave up at 2.00 am, returned to my accommodation, zero Southern Brown Kiwi.
Given the state of the sea, I was pretty impressed that the ferry was running – this was no large boat, but a small catamaran! But gee, it was a memorable crossing! Had hoped for high winds to bring birds into the Foveaux Strait, but this was really over the top …with waves crashing right over the stern and the boat plunging and rocking, I simply couldn't use binoculars for the first 20 minutes or so, rather frustrating as heaps of birds were battling the sea! About half way across, now slightly sheltered by Stewart Island, it was just about possible to use binoculars by bracing against metal uprights ...and fantastic it was, thousands of Sooty Shearwater effortlessly cutting over the waves and a good bunch of albatrosses likewise looking quite at home (at least 40 White-capped Albatrosses, a single Salvin's Albatross and my only Black-browed Albatross of the trip). Though conditions left many birds unidentified, there were no problems with Common Diving Petrels - wonderful birds, like little humbugs whirring through the great troughs, an absolute minimum of 18 seen. Also three White-chinned Petrels, one Cook's Petrel and, highlight of the crossing, one superb Mottled Petrel right adjacent to the ferry.
Arriving on Stewart Island, a considerable number of passengers looked none too well, but I was well-chuffed. Ever the glutton for punishment, I decided to immediately take a water taxi across to Ulva Island, another very bumpy crossing, albeit a mere 15 minutes.
And so it was, I was now on Ulva Island, quite possibly the single best birding locality in New Zealand in terms of native land species. South Island Robins hopping around my feet, flightless Weka equally tame, flocks of mixed Red-crowned and Yellow-crowned Parakeets, four noisy Kaka ...and this was just the first quarter hour or so! Spent about five hours on the island and it truly was a most enjoyable experience - in dense forest draped in mosses and enhanced by enormous ferns, it was non-stop excellent birds, South Island Robins alone numbered at least 35, while the two parakeets topped minimums of 40 and 10 for Red-crowned and Yellow-crowned respectively. Continuing, it was top quality birds everywhere - flocks of Yellowheads and New Zealand Brown Creepers, several South Island Saddlebacks, a few South Island Tomtits, one Rifleman and, among the more common birds, plenty of Tui, New Zealand Fantails and New Zealand Pigeons.
A pause on a beach not bad too - as well as two inquisitive Weka and a male Tomtit at the beach edge, also had a pair of Variable Oystercatchers with a chick, one Little Blue Penguin offshore and, on the non-bird front, one very impressive New Zealand Sea Lion dominating the sands!
Crossed back to Stewart Island late afternoon, an impressive number of White-capped Albatrosses as I did so. On Stewart Island, having checked into my accommodation, I was now turning my thoughts to evening activities - the hope being my third kiwi species of the trip, Southern Brown Kiwi. At sunset approached, I started off with a quick visit to the town wharf, where Little Blue Penguins promptly performed, clambering up boulders to nests in crannies right adjacent to the jetty. From then on however, things went rather downhill - from darkness at about 10 pm till long into the early hours, I wandered the hinterland of Oban in search of my target. Heard a presumed individual rustling in the undergrowth along Hicks Road, saw both introduced Wild Boar and White-tailed Deer, even had a friendly encounter with the local police at 1.00 am on a lonely road far from town, but as for a kiwi sighting, not even a glimpse! Finally gave up at 2.00 am, returned to my accommodation, zero Southern Brown Kiwi.
foresttwitcher
Virtually unknown member
An idea of the ferry - THIS LINK was a relatively calm patch, for the frst ten seconds of the video
Quite a ride!!
29 December. Stewart Island.
Mist and gloom for much of the morning, clearing only in the afternoon. No big deal however, today was really planned as a day of relative leisure before heading out after dark again. Did take a long walk out to Ackers Point, partly to see if any seabirds offshore (highlights a Grey-faced Petrel and a Common Diving Petrel), partly also to recce for my night wanderings, then also walked to Horseshoe Point (pleasant scenery, ten Kaka, two Yellow-crowned Parakeets, several New Zealand Bellbirds, etc). One New Zealand Falcon also seen, flying across the main bay in Oban.
An easy day over, so evening arrived, time for attempt number two on Southern Brown Kiwi. Was determined to have better luck this evening, so started with a 4km walk from Oban town out to Ackers Point. Masses of Sooty Shearwaters offshore and as darkness fell, so they came ashore, the tip of Ackers Point an active breeding colony ... truly remarkable to have Sooty Shearwaters flopping through the tree canopy and crashing onto the ground, the eerie wailing of many more birds emanating from slopes all around. A bit noisy to hear kiwis here, so I slowly wandered the coastal path a few kilometres to Golden Bay, fantastic habitat all the way. Several Little Blue Penguins wandering through the woodland, but not a squeak of a kiwi. Checked the golf course, nothing. Checked trails beyond Golden Bay, classic kiwi habitat, but also nothing. It was now approaching 1.00 am and a sense of déjà vu was setting in, a repeat of the night before!
Checked the town's rugby field and the forest trails beyond, nothing. Oh groan, I wandered roads west of Oban, 2.00 am came and went. I decided to check one last area, the road up towards the airfield, got a fair way up and nothing, but then a loud characteristic screech - a Southern Brown Kiwi in dense cover right next to the road, three metres distant at most. But invisible! I waited patiently, fully expecting the bird to emerge to feed on the grassy road verge, but I could clearly hear it trudging the opposite direction! And so went my closest encounter with my bird.
That was quite enough for me, I decided it was time to call it quits, turned and started back to my accommodation ...but there, a mere few metres back, bold as brass, one fantastic Southern Brown Kiwi feeding out in the open on a garden lawn!!! It was now 2.45 am, I finally had my reward after two nights of searching - and an amazing reward it turned out to be, it simply wandered around at a distance of just a couple of metres, first on the lawn, then shuffling around at the base of a hedge. Best views I would get of any of New Zealand's kiwis!
I left the bird after 3.00 am, very pleased indeed. Back to accommodation I went, sleep well deserved.
Mist and gloom for much of the morning, clearing only in the afternoon. No big deal however, today was really planned as a day of relative leisure before heading out after dark again. Did take a long walk out to Ackers Point, partly to see if any seabirds offshore (highlights a Grey-faced Petrel and a Common Diving Petrel), partly also to recce for my night wanderings, then also walked to Horseshoe Point (pleasant scenery, ten Kaka, two Yellow-crowned Parakeets, several New Zealand Bellbirds, etc). One New Zealand Falcon also seen, flying across the main bay in Oban.
An easy day over, so evening arrived, time for attempt number two on Southern Brown Kiwi. Was determined to have better luck this evening, so started with a 4km walk from Oban town out to Ackers Point. Masses of Sooty Shearwaters offshore and as darkness fell, so they came ashore, the tip of Ackers Point an active breeding colony ... truly remarkable to have Sooty Shearwaters flopping through the tree canopy and crashing onto the ground, the eerie wailing of many more birds emanating from slopes all around. A bit noisy to hear kiwis here, so I slowly wandered the coastal path a few kilometres to Golden Bay, fantastic habitat all the way. Several Little Blue Penguins wandering through the woodland, but not a squeak of a kiwi. Checked the golf course, nothing. Checked trails beyond Golden Bay, classic kiwi habitat, but also nothing. It was now approaching 1.00 am and a sense of déjà vu was setting in, a repeat of the night before!
Checked the town's rugby field and the forest trails beyond, nothing. Oh groan, I wandered roads west of Oban, 2.00 am came and went. I decided to check one last area, the road up towards the airfield, got a fair way up and nothing, but then a loud characteristic screech - a Southern Brown Kiwi in dense cover right next to the road, three metres distant at most. But invisible! I waited patiently, fully expecting the bird to emerge to feed on the grassy road verge, but I could clearly hear it trudging the opposite direction! And so went my closest encounter with my bird.
That was quite enough for me, I decided it was time to call it quits, turned and started back to my accommodation ...but there, a mere few metres back, bold as brass, one fantastic Southern Brown Kiwi feeding out in the open on a garden lawn!!! It was now 2.45 am, I finally had my reward after two nights of searching - and an amazing reward it turned out to be, it simply wandered around at a distance of just a couple of metres, first on the lawn, then shuffling around at the base of a hedge. Best views I would get of any of New Zealand's kiwis!
I left the bird after 3.00 am, very pleased indeed. Back to accommodation I went, sleep well deserved.
It looks like some creature out of Fantastic Beasts! :eek!:
At 2.45 am, after umpteen hours, it was indeed awesome and a fantastic beast :t:
The legs are just amazing - I think primarily for running and fighting, rather than digging. It is the ear in picture two - strange to see in a bird, but then just about everthing in a kiwi is strange
30 December. Stewart Island & Ulva Island.
With my pelagic cancelled and having scored my Southern Brown Kiwi the previous evening, I nipped down to the ferry port first thing and changed my ticket, departing this day instead of the next as planned. I then popped over to Ulva Island for another look round - pretty much the same birds as a couple of days earlier (Yellowheads, South Island Saddlebacks, South Island Robins, etc), but with one added curious sight - in dense forest right in the centre of the island, a female Sea Lion with pup! A most strange sight in the thick of the forest, apparently the females haul themselves into the forest to have their pups to avoid the heavyweight males who could otherwise squash the pups.
A regular horde of White-capped Albatrosses on the hop back to Stewart Island, then a couple of hours to kill before the ferry back across the Foveaux Strait. Though far calmer than on my outward journey, winds had fortunately picked up somewhat, good omens for another productive crossing. And pretty good it turned out to be - White-capped Albatrosses and Sooty Shearwaters as expected, plus a pleasing minimum of 30 Common Diving Petrels, three Cook's Petrels, a single White-chinned Petrel and a distant probable Mottled Petrel. Also managed one Little Blue Penguin, a couple of Foveaux Shags and, quite near Bluff, one Pomarine Skua, my only one of the trip.
Once in Bluff, now late afternoon, I retrieved my car and set off for the scenic delights of the Southern Alps, the road to Milford Sound to be precise. Had plans to explore the rocky slopes adjacent to Homer Tunnel the following day, so drove as far as the Eglinton River Valley this evening, camping at the quaint Mackay Creek campsite, one South Island Robin greeting me on arrival, Moreporks calling after dark.
With my pelagic cancelled and having scored my Southern Brown Kiwi the previous evening, I nipped down to the ferry port first thing and changed my ticket, departing this day instead of the next as planned. I then popped over to Ulva Island for another look round - pretty much the same birds as a couple of days earlier (Yellowheads, South Island Saddlebacks, South Island Robins, etc), but with one added curious sight - in dense forest right in the centre of the island, a female Sea Lion with pup! A most strange sight in the thick of the forest, apparently the females haul themselves into the forest to have their pups to avoid the heavyweight males who could otherwise squash the pups.
A regular horde of White-capped Albatrosses on the hop back to Stewart Island, then a couple of hours to kill before the ferry back across the Foveaux Strait. Though far calmer than on my outward journey, winds had fortunately picked up somewhat, good omens for another productive crossing. And pretty good it turned out to be - White-capped Albatrosses and Sooty Shearwaters as expected, plus a pleasing minimum of 30 Common Diving Petrels, three Cook's Petrels, a single White-chinned Petrel and a distant probable Mottled Petrel. Also managed one Little Blue Penguin, a couple of Foveaux Shags and, quite near Bluff, one Pomarine Skua, my only one of the trip.
Once in Bluff, now late afternoon, I retrieved my car and set off for the scenic delights of the Southern Alps, the road to Milford Sound to be precise. Had plans to explore the rocky slopes adjacent to Homer Tunnel the following day, so drove as far as the Eglinton River Valley this evening, camping at the quaint Mackay Creek campsite, one South Island Robin greeting me on arrival, Moreporks calling after dark.
