Fowl Mouth
Just a guy with dogs
Hey all. I understand that May is shoulder season, and moving into the winter, but the trip sort of fell in our laps and we couldn't say no. We are pretty equally split on all the great aspects of vacationing, from food and city culture, to vast landscapes, and not the least of course, wildlife. It's only two weeks.
To start, I've already read that easy access to little blue penguins is on private land with a strong eco-friendly slant, meaning NO cameras. Not just no flash, but across the board no cameras at all. I get it. Cell phone users who can't mitigate flash settings ruin it for the rest of us. But my first question is if anyone knows where to and how possible it may be to photograph little blues in the wild. I will go on record saying that I am excessively careful about not approaching sensitive wildlife, and typically use long telephoto lenses to ensure this. Oh, and I don't use flash
LOL.
A birder at heart I'm happy to hear about any tips or tricks for finding unique NZ bird species, such as kiwi, yellow-eyed penguins, takahes, etc... That said, other animals are also of interest. So any advice is welcome. Unfortunately not going to have time to hit Stewart Island. We will be renting a car so will have freedom of movement, though. We plan on spending a few days in Aukland, a few days in Queenstown, probably hit Milford Sound for a day if weather is cooperative. Also Dunedin, Oamaru and Christchurch a day or two each. Oh and definitely a high speed cruise out of Kaikōura in search of sperm whales.
Anyway, I know this forum is lightly traveled, and we are already pinning down our hotels and B&B stays, but any advice between now and May 2024 would be very useful. Thanks in advance.
To start, I've already read that easy access to little blue penguins is on private land with a strong eco-friendly slant, meaning NO cameras. Not just no flash, but across the board no cameras at all. I get it. Cell phone users who can't mitigate flash settings ruin it for the rest of us. But my first question is if anyone knows where to and how possible it may be to photograph little blues in the wild. I will go on record saying that I am excessively careful about not approaching sensitive wildlife, and typically use long telephoto lenses to ensure this. Oh, and I don't use flash
A birder at heart I'm happy to hear about any tips or tricks for finding unique NZ bird species, such as kiwi, yellow-eyed penguins, takahes, etc... That said, other animals are also of interest. So any advice is welcome. Unfortunately not going to have time to hit Stewart Island. We will be renting a car so will have freedom of movement, though. We plan on spending a few days in Aukland, a few days in Queenstown, probably hit Milford Sound for a day if weather is cooperative. Also Dunedin, Oamaru and Christchurch a day or two each. Oh and definitely a high speed cruise out of Kaikōura in search of sperm whales.
Anyway, I know this forum is lightly traveled, and we are already pinning down our hotels and B&B stays, but any advice between now and May 2024 would be very useful. Thanks in advance.