Touring New Zealand (1 Viewer)

[Maroon Jay]

Went to the Travis Wetlands today. Thanks for the tip Chlidonias. I added two new birds, the Grey Teal and the Australasian Shoveler. Saw tons of Canada Geese and Pukekos and a bunch of other common birds, and three cats. Was not thrilled to see cats there but there are houses all around the border of the wetlands. Still no falcon.

 

[Maroon Jay]

West to the Ashley Estuary. Saw lots of birds but nothing new. Good place to see Spoonbills. Lots of people with dogs so they kept the birds at a distance.

 

[Maroon Jay]

Now at Kaikoura. Lots of tours here for whale, dolphin or bird watching. The whales in the area are Sperm Wales. They dive and stay under for close to one hour. When they surface you see only the back of their head and the tail. The tour costs $145 and they usually see just one whale, sometimes two. I didn't feel that it was worh $145 to see a whale's tail for a minute or two out of two hours, twenty minutes on the sea so I passed on this tour. The dolphin tour is probably very nice but I have seen many dolphins so I passed on that also. You have the option to swim with the dolphins for extra money or just watch from the boat. I took the pelagic bird tour callled Albatross Encounter. Cost $115. I saw six new birds: Wandering Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Westland Petrel, Cape Petrel, Short-tailed Shearwater and Buller's Shearwater. No Hutton's Shearwater were sighted even though they nest here on the Kaikoura peninsula. The skipper/guide was not too helpful. There were Cape Petrel all around the boat but he did not say what they were. I later found out that he saw two Fluttering Shearwaters but he never said anything. I guess they went by on one side while I was photographing albatross on the other side. One of the passengers was very knowledgable about the birds and was telling people what they were. The skipper was also very knowledgeable and would answer your questions if you asked him but didn't volunteer any information. I might have seen one or two more birds if he had announced their presence. Perhaps that is not part of his job description. Most tours I have been on have both a skipper and a guide. This boat had a crew of one, called the skipper. Still, it was an excellent trip in spite of that and I highly recommend it. You can always photograph the birds and figure out what they are later.

 

[Maroon Jay]

I put two photos from the above trip in the ID section.

 

[Maroon Jay]

Where is the Hutton's Shearwater? I went for a walk around the Kaikoura peninsula. There I saw a Hutton Shearwater sanctuary with a predator-proof fence around it, but didnt see any birds. OK, they sleep in underground burrows and fly out to sea during the day and get back at night so that explains why I didnt see any. But I also took a boat trip offshore and didnt see any there either. Is this the only place to see them?

 

[Chlidonias]

Where is the Hutton's Shearwater? I went for a walk around the Kaikoura peninsula. There I saw a Hutton Shearwater sanctuary with a predator-proof fence around it, but didnt see any birds. OK, they sleep in underground burrows and fly out to sea during the day and get back at night so that explains why I didnt see any. But I also took a boat trip offshore and didnt see any there either. Is this the only place to see them?

they are probably mostly in Australia now I guess, where they winter. They arrive back in NZ from late August for nesting; around now (March, April) is when they are going the other way.

The only surviving nesting colonies are at Kaikoura (in the mountains, plus one translocated lowland colony which is the one you saw).

 

[Chlidonias]

I just had a look at the Albatross Encounter sightings board and you must have just been unlucky in not seeing Hutton's. They have been seen almost every day all month.
http://www.albatrossencounter.co.nz/albatross/sightings/

 

[MJB]

Where is the Hutton's Shearwater? I went for a walk around the Kaikoura peninsula. There I saw a Hutton Shearwater sanctuary with a predator-proof fence around it, but didnt see any birds. OK, they sleep in underground burrows and fly out to sea during the day and get back at night so that explains why I didnt see any. But I also took a boat trip offshore and didnt see any there either. Is this the only place to see them?

Further to the inputs from Chlidonias, for your info here are a couple of papers, one on Hutton's, one that includes Hutton's amongst other pelagic seabirds, and a map (image a) of satellite-tracked Hutton's, Sooty and Fluttering Shearwaters (I think I'm right about which three are mapped!).

I saw some Hutton's close inshore off NW Australia; I suppose these were outliers from the main wintering grounds. Usually the shearwaters I saw there were too far off to be assigned a species identity, but on some days, they were close to shore for no discernible reason.
MJB

 

[Maroon Jay]

Yes, Albatross Encounter had seen Hutton's every day up until the 29th of March. They have not updated their records since the 28th. Apparently the Hutton's go to Australia around the first of April. Guess I will have to look for one there.

 

[Maroon Jay]

Thanks MJB. Interesting reading. Guess I will look for Hutton's in Australia. I was a bit too late to see them here.

 

[birdboybowley]

I just had a look at the Albatross Encounter sightings board and you must have just been unlucky in not seeing Hutton's. They have been seen almost every day all month.
http://www.albatrossencounter.co.nz/albatross/sightings/

Not very accurate those tables - just checked the October 2006 one where I did two trips and they're missing a few birds I photographed!!! Oh well......

 

[Maroon Jay]

I am now back in Wellington. Was thinking of going to Mana Island but apparently there is no way to get there short of having your own boat. Was also thinking of Matiu-somes Island in the harbour but ferry goes there at 10:20 am and comes back at 2:35. Not much time. Apparently there are Fluttering Shearwaters in the harbour but how to see them? What else in the Wellington area? Perhaps I will go to Cape Palliser but not sure what can be seen there without a boat. Suggestions?

 

[Chlidonias]

you could head to Plimmerton just up the coast (very close) and see if the shore plovers are on the beach next to the fire station.

You could go to the Waikanae Estuary and look for dabchicks.

 

[Maroon Jay]

I decided to explore the Cape Paliser area for a couple of days and then go to the places Chlidonias suggested before heading back to Auckland. Would like to see the Shore Plover. The road over the mountains from Welllington to Featherston is very steep and windy. Just south of Featherston I stopped at a place called Boggy Pond where I saw a NZ Grebe (Dabchick). The temperature last night was around the freezing mark. Glad I am getting near the end of my trip. Too cold. Or perhaps it is just this side of the moutains as it was about 10 degrees at night in Wellington.

 

[Maroon Jay]

I went to Cape Paliser. Didn't see any new birds. Saw lots of seals. We stopped and watched a bunch of little seal pups frollicking near the shore. It is a good place to look for Pipits. I saw three of them. If you are feeling energetic, you could climb the 250 stairs to the lighthouse at the top of the cliff for a great view. Nothing new but a very pleasant day. I also looked along the shore where Lake Onoke meets the sea. There are supposed to be a lot of shorebords there but I didn't see any. Perhaps they have all left for the winter already. From there I went to Plimmerton to look for Shore Plovers but didn't see any.

 

[Maroon Jay]

I am now back in Auckland and I sold my camper van. I paid $10,500 for it and sold it for $8,200 so I lost $2,300. Add the cost of fuel and other expenses and it cost me about $3,500 for a 4.5 month trip around New Zealand. A bargin. To rent a camper van costs about $200 per day. I did not have to stay in hotels or eat in restaurants. A very cheap trip. Now I have rented a room in a person's house just north of Auckland for $200 per week. Now what can I do for a couple of weeks around Auckland without a vehicle? I could rent a car for a day or two. I though of going to Tiritiri Island and staying overnight. I would like to do that but I would have to make a reservation in advance and the weather is unpredictable. I might end up with a gloomy, rainy day. Will check on going a few places on the bus.

 

[davidg]

I'm extremely jealous that you're still there - my 4 week trip is a distant memory now! If I was in your shoes I'd definitely go for the overnighter at Tiritiri Matangi - a good chance of both Little Spotted Kiwi and Kokako. The Hauraki Gulf pelagic cruise would be tempting if I could be sure that my stomach wouldn't turn on me again! I'd also make a point of another trip to Mangere - mostly because I'm still sore about missing Wrybill! Have a great last few days whatever you decide to do.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Now what can I do for a couple of weeks around Auckland without a vehicle? .

what birds are you still missing?

Maybe book 2 nights on tiritiri to compensate for bad weather if you still after L.S. Kiwi. As well as the introduced endemics (Takahe, Stitchbird, Brown Teal, Kokako etc), Spotless Crake has been pretty much guaranteed on Tiritiri for years if you're after that?, on the tiny pool up from the jetty.

As Davidg said, the Hauraki Gulf pelagic trip is great, but it is expensive (cost me NZ$240 a few years ago). Not sure what's poss now, but In late Feb we had Black, Cook's and Pycroft's Petrels, Grey Ternlet, White-faced Storm-Petrel and the big prize, NZ Storm-Petrel.

 

[Maroon Jay]

I decided to go on the all-day pelagic trip with Pterodroma Pelagics only to find out that the last trip for the season was 13 April. The next one is in November. I have had many recommendations that this is a really good trip. I should have done it first before going south. It cost $300 but that is for a full day so I think it would be worth it. They go out quite a ways so seasickness can be a problem. Sorry I missed out on this one. Would like to go to Mangere again if I can figure out how to get there on the bus. Also considering Tiritiri Matingi but dont have blankets or sleeping bags. I have been doing something almost every day for months. Now I am going to take a few days of doing nothing and sort through my photos. I have seen one Brown Kiwi but not the Spotted. Never saw Kokako or Spotless Crake so Tiritiri is looking like a good place. The weather in Auckland for the past two days has been dark and rainy.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I Also considering Tiritiri Matingi but dont have blankets or sleeping bags.

should be able to pick up cheap bedding in 2nd hand/charity shop in Aukland?? If just for couple of nights any old cheap thing could do? The Kokako and Spotless Crake tend to be easier when it's quieter, before and after the day visitors are around, and obviously the kiwi is only possible at night. Also nice to end the trip with some quality time among some of those endemics, especially the Takahe.