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Message: <blockquote data-quote="birdboybowley" data-source="post: 1254492" data-attributes="member: 60953">Yep Chowchilla, only 6.....give me seawatching off Sussex anyday...<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" />!!!Thanks Phil, I found Stewart Island to be especially evocative with its native birdsong. Well, here's another quick installment guys...enjoy:With every turn of road the mountains and scenery became more and more photogenic which is why it can take a long time to get anywhere in this country! We stopped at the breathtakingly gorgeous crystal-clear Lake Tekapo for a photo-op of the flock of dainty Black-billed Gulls against the backdrop of cloud-clad mountains and brilliant blue sky. [ATTACH]152443[/ATTACH]We stopped at the visitor centre at the bottom of Lake Pukaki, where a group of NZ Scaup were swimming and Black-fronted Terns were diving offshore, and phoned the DOC office at Twizel and asked Rachel (a friend of our hitchhiker Rachel!) for any good sites for Black Stilt. She obliged and we were soon heading up the valley alongside the stunningly blue Lake Pukaki towards the awesome Mount Cook (Aoraki). We stopped at a lookout near \the start and had good views of a charming male South Island Tomtit and then stopped again at the end of the lake at the Tasman Delta which is where the braided river systems begin and soon had a superb adult Black Stilt in the ‘scope – fantastic! [ATTACH]152442[/ATTACH][ATTACH]152445[/ATTACH]A few White-headeds and a couple of hybrids birds were also present. For better views we followed Rachel’s tip and parked in Glentanner and walked down to the river system and had excellent views of at least 3 adults feeding in this amazing place. I glanced nearer to us and saw a group of pied stilts that I initially took for hybrids, so I thought I’d get some reference footage and then noticed that each of the 18 ‘hybrids’ was sporting an antenna....doh, they were all immature Blacks!! Brilliant! Also had great views of Double-banded Plovers and SIPOs feeding in the shallow pools. We drove into Mt Cook village and got some info on the tramping tracks up the mountain. The surrounding valley was right out of Middle-Earth and the majesty and grandeur of Mt Cook itself, with its underlying danger, was just unbelievable. We parked up alongside the road near a little pool that had Grey Teal on it, and watched the surrounding peaks glow pink as the sun set and the moon came up. People are gonna be bored of mountain photos when I get back home...![ATTACH]152446[/ATTACH]We drove up to the White Hill campground and found a few gorgeous Riflemen in the stunted bushes, along with NZ Fantails and numerous Silvereyes, Greenfinches and Redpoll. We set off up the Sealy Trail along a rocky path with a steep incline that wound relentlessly upwards causing burning thighs and calves bringing back nightmares of Mt Kinabalu! These minor niggles were pushes aside as I gazed around at the views each level-up afforded: looking down over the two glacial meltwater lakes and up the sheer sides to the mountains opposite I felt very small indeed. We crossed a short section of snow which gave us the opportunity to eat some as we’d left the water in the van...further up the meltwater ran clear and cold, so drinking wasn’t a problem! As we reached the tableau the views down the valley were awe-inspiring and Mt Cook and Mt Sefton were so close now that the snow blown clear from the icy blue ledges was clearly visible. No sign of Rock Wren though, so we tried to get higher but my leg disappeared up to my thigh so we gave it a miss![ATTACH]152444[/ATTACH]The vegetation was mostly stunted and twisty, mostly grasses up top and with an enormous variety of alpines growing between the huge rocks all set to the backdrop sounds of continually trickling water and the intermittent explosive screams of cheeky Keas as they flew overhead. Getting down was much easier on the legs and we left Mt Cook with it forever imprinted on our minds. A quick stop at the delta gave good views of 7ad5imm Black Stilts and we ended up parked on the southern shore of Lake Pukaki with Black-fronted Terns for company and settled down to watch the sun set over the postcard-perfect lake.</blockquote>

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