Wednesday 20th February 2008.
Cairns to Auckland
After weeks of planning the day had finally arrived when we headed off on our New Zealand adventure. An overnight stay in Cairns avoided a 3.00am start; instead we had a 4.00am start. Our flight to Auckland was via Sydney where we changed aircraft. The journey from Sydney was aboard a Boeing 767, which took 2hrs 20mins to get to Auckland.
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| North Island New Zealand |
20th February
Red-billed Gull
Black-backed Gull
House Sparrow
European Starling
Song Thrush
Common Myna
Thursday 21st February 2008
Up at 6.30, just like home again, to be greeted by a European Blackbird worming on the lawn. Caught the No 471 bus into town which took just over an hour. Did not see much on the trip in, Rock Dove and Common Myna.
Wandered up Queen Street and bought a copy of The Hand Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, plus Field Guide to New Zealand Seabirds and Where to Watch Birds in New Zealand. Found a Café to have a coffee then headed back down into the port, where a couple of liners were berthed including the Queen Elizabeth 2.
Had lunch at a restaurant along the wharf by the National Maritime Museum then walked back past the Britomart Transport Centre and into the railway station. Tried to find the bus stop for the return journey and eventually succeeded in finding a bus which was heading our way. It was not going all the way so we had to change buses at the Westfield Shopping Centre. Back to the Caravan Park to get organised then drove back to the shopping centre where we stocked up on food, which we found quite expensive compared to Australia. This was most noticeable with dairy products, however we found bread was cheaper but came in smaller loaves.
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| Auckland central with appropriately named truck |
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| Queen Elizabeth 2 |
Friday 22nd February 2008
Up early at 6.00 to get ready to head north for the ferry to Tiritiri. Headed north on Highway 1 which took us through Auckland and over the Auckland Harbour Bridge at the beginning of rush hour, a mad house on the roads. The journey over the bridge was very windy and blew the vehicle around. Found Gulf Harbour, where the Fullers 360 ferry departed for Tiritiri. Lindsay found a phone to ring Fullers and they told us the bad news that the ferry was not running due to the inclement weather, not surprising. Bit like our last holiday in Tasmania having the plane flight to Melaleuca cancelled because of bad weather. It was very disappointing not to go but we will have to try again later on. Went over to a parking spot and had breakfast. Also tried to photograph Variable and South Island Pied Oystercatcher plus a few White-fronted Terns but had a run in with a bloke and his dog that put the birds to flight, he could see what I was doing and could easily have walked around.
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| White-fronted Tern |
South Island Pied Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Black-billed Gull
Red-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
White-fronted Tern
Australasian Gannet
Little Pied Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Pacific Reef-Heron
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
House Sparrow
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| Little Pied Cormorant |
12.00 - 1230Tapora Rd at -36 22 29S 174 17 27E
Paradise Shelduck
South Island Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Eurasian Skylark
European Starling
Common Myna
House Sparrow
Turned around and went down to Bird Beach at Journey’s End, still raining and the tide was in. Many birds were roosting on a peninsula opposite the beach, at least 2000 Pied Oystercatcher with a few hundred Black Swan bobbing up and down in the surf.
Birds Beach, Journey's End -36.32065, 174.26977
Black Swan
South Island Oystercatcher
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Pied Cormorant
Common Myna
House Sparrow
Had lunch before heading south to Helensville, where we checked out the information centre, not very informative but we did pick up a few more maps. Decided to go to Shelley Beach, where there was a caravan park. Arrived in the pouring rain and strong winds to find it was a big car park with a small section at the end for caravans. There was a toilet block and shower but no other facilities, very basic. Too late to go anywhere else so we parked up and watched the rain. The vegetation at the edge of the car park at the base of the cliffs had Common Myna calling plus another bird we were not sure of. When it came into sight it was a Gerygone – Grey Warbler our first native passerine tick. A walk along the beach in the howling wind produced Bar-tailed Godwit.
Shelly Beach at -36.57032 174.37894
South Island Oystercatcher
Bar-tailed Godwit
Red-billed Gull
Sacred Kingfisher
Gray Gerygone
Welcome Swallow
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
Saturday 23rd February 2008
Took off at 7.30am still with the wind howling and raining, back to Helensville and onto Highway 16 towards Auckland. Turned off to Merriwai Beach, where we hoped to see the Gannet colony. Parked up in the car park, (48kms and 55 minutes from Shelley Beach), overlooking the beach and the rocks where the Gannets were breeding. We could just make them out through the scope sitting on the rock outcrop, many of them juvenile birds. There were also a few hardy surfers braving the elements in the surf.
Muriwai Beach, Murawai RP. -36.83444, 174.42678
Kelp Gull
Australasian Gannet
Common Myna
Had a boiled egg for breakfast and then back onto the road to Auckland which turned into a motorway with crazy speeding drivers in the rain. Went over a causeway which had the ocean lapping at its side, would not take much to go over the road. Fuelled up at a motorway servo, which was doing a roaring trade – took $97.00 off us! By this time we were on Highway 2. Turned off the highway onto the Coramandel Road to Miranda and eventually found the right road which took us to the Pūkorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre. Introduced ourselves and had a look around the centre shop. Bought another shorebird book a beanie and a cap plus a few post cards (remember them?). Went up to the nearest town, Kaiaua, 7km away to get a few supplies before returning for lunch. After lunch we went for a walk in the drizzle to the bird hide which took us about an hour to reach due to stopping to look at Greenfinch and Skylark! At the hide we managed to see a few waders despite the tide being low, including Wrybill, which was one of the target species. Also saw two Greater Sand-Plover, which are uncommon here. The rain eased off so we hastily headed back to the shorebird centre to have a shower and tea.
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| Wrybill |
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| Wrybill |
South Island Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Red-breasted Dotterel
Greater Sand-Plover
Double-banded Plover
Wrybill
Bar-tailed Godwit
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Red-necked Stint
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Eurasian Skylark
Welcome Swallow
Silver-eye
Common Myna
European Greenfinch
House Sparrow
Had a lie in until 7.10am. Breakfast then met with some of the days wader counters, the organiser arrived at 9.00am. We were allocated the area near the bird hide, where there were ponds and shingle banks, which was probably the best place for roosting waders. Plenty of birds roosting including 2798 Wrybill, which is over half the total world population. Many other birds including 4572 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1398 South Island Oystercatcher and 608 Red Knot. Black-billed Gull was a new bird for us plus the Red-breasted (New Zealand) Dotterel and Banded Dotterel were great to see again. We were lucky with the weather as it stayed dry and the wind dropped. Back at the shorebird centre by mid-day for lunch and total up the birds before saying goodbye and heading off towards Thames.
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| Wrybill - part of the 2798 present |
Pied Stilt
South Island Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Pacific Golden-Plover
Masked Lapwing
Red-breasted Dotterel
Greater Sand-Plover
Double-banded Plover
Wrybill
Bar-tailed Godwit
Red Knot
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
White-fronted Tern
White-faced Heron
Swamp Harrier
Australian Magpie
Eurasian Skylark
Welcome Swallow
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
European Greenfinch
House Sparrow
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| Bar-tailed Godwit - part of the 4572 present |
Shelley Beach, Coromandel -36.76144 175.49972
Pacific Black Duck
Mallard
South Island Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
White-faced Heron
Southern Boobook
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
Welcome Swallow
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
Yellowhammer
Monday 25th February 2008
Had a slow start to the day before going into Coromandel to send a few post cards at the post office. We then took the road over the hills to Whitiango, where we stopped for a coffee break by the sea. The wind was blowing and the sea extremely choppy. Stopped in town to get some rolls at the bakery and bought a decent road atlas at the newsagent before getting a couple of bottles of wine. Drove down to the harbour at Tuaria, where we parked up and had lunch in the wind. Photographed Kelp (Black-backed) Gull here. Drove over to a friends place, before going out to do some birding. Piri lookout was good for Tui, which was our first for the trip.
Then went to the local golf course, where Fernbird had been seen in the past. We heard some calling and eventually got good looks at this skulking bird, new for us as was Great Cormorant and two introductions, Eastern Rosella and California Quail. A great few hours birding.
Evening meal on the patio of our friends house was accompanied with scrounging Red-billed Gulls who were on the lawn, makes a change from Sparrows!
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| Coromandel - Piri Lookout |
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| Tui |
Tauria Golf Course -36.99806 175.84738
California Quail
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo
Australasian Swamphen
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Great Cormorant
Eastern Rosella
Gray Gerygone
Australian Magpie
Fernbird
Silver-eye
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
House Sparrow
Tuesday 26th February 2008
The morning chorus was a couple of Morpoke (Southern Boobook) Owl calling just before dawn. Had breakfast and said goodbye to our friends. Followed the coast south along the usual hilly and narrow winding road, which was broken with a few straight stretches. Nowhere to stop along the road as usual so turned off the highway to go down to the coast at Omokaroa for a coffee break. Found there was a regatta going on with hordes of people and nowhere to park, so backtracked along the sea front until we found a park. Next stop was Tauranga for shopping and to fuel up before heading towards Rotarua along the Pyes Pa Road through a gorge. Found Lake Rotorua and stopped at Momutana for lunch, still blowing a gale. Continued on around the lake and pulled off the road to check out the Adventure Company shop. Lots of goodies inside but very expensive, NZ$99 for a shirt I paid A$49 for in Australia, so we ended up not buying anything. Then drove down to Blue Lake to check out the top ten van park. Yuck, took one look at the hoards of tourists on the lake, not our scene so we turned around and headed back to Rotarua. Continued on south and found Lake Rerewhakaaitu which looked like a good spot for a free camp. Quite a few birds on the lake including New Zealand Scaup, Pied Stilt, Canada Geese and Black Swan. Took a few photos including some dragonflies.
There was an invasion of Mossies at dusk so we battened down the hatches and cleaned up the ones which got into the van.
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| Dragonfly sp. |
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| Dragonfly sp. |
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| Dragonfly sp. |
Lake Rerewhakaaitu at 38 18 20S 176 30 05E
Canada Goose
Black Swan
Pacific Black Duck
Mallard
New Zealand Scaup
Australasian Swamphen
Pied Stilt
Masked Lapwing
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Great Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Swamp Harrier
Sacred Kingfisher
Grey Gerygone
New Zealand Fantail
Welcome Swallow
Silver-eye
European Starling
Common Myna
House Sparrow
Wednesday 27th February 2008
Awoke in the morning to a cold start probably around 11-12oC with mist flowing across the lake. Had a cup of coffee to warm up before getting organised and on the road towards Rotarua again. Turned off before Rotarua onto SH30. Quite a lot of mist around, some of it quite thick, especially around the Whakamura Dam area, not good for sightseeing. Kept going and turned off to the Pureora Forest office arriving about 9.00am. The office was open but was not very exciting with little information and not very helpful staff. Decided to go down the Link Road but soon found it was a very rough (for the van) dirt track – bad move. Stopped after 10km at the first suitable place to pull off the road and had a late breakfast at 9.45am. We had a Tomtit, which was a very cute and inquisitive bird.
Saw some Tui’s here as well. Decided that the road was too rough for the van and turned around to go back to the Ngaherehga campground near the forest office. Then drove out to the forest viewing tower car park, which was a good move. Saw New Zealand Robin on the walk to the tower and then viewed more birds from the tower including New Zealand Kaka, New Zealand Pigeon and Whitehead. Took a few photos of New Zealand Kaka here. Had lunch at the parking area then a snooze before a quick visit back to the tower and the old protest site set up to save the area from logging, which they did. Back to the campground to park up for the night and have an afternoon walk around the Tatara walk. Back at the campground we were joined by some Aussies, four in a camper van. They turned out to be the only others camping in the area so we had a quiet night.
Pureora Forest Park, -38.62116 175.57868
New Zealand Pigeon
Southern Boobook
New Zealand Kaka
Eastern Rosella
Tui
New Zealand Bellbird
Grey Gerygone
Whitehead
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
New Zealand Robin
Silver-eye
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Chaffinch
European Greenfinch
Yellowhammer
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| New Zealand Kaka |
Pureora Forest Park, Canopy Tower, -38.51055 175.58972
New Zealand Pigeon
New Zealand Kaka
Yellow-crowned Parakeet
Tui
Whitehead
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
Tomtit
New Zealand Robin
Silver-eye
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Chaffinch
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| New Zealand Robin |
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| New Zealand Robin - immature |
Pureora Forest Park, Link Rd, -38.52883 175.64254
New Zealand Pigeon
Tui
Grey Gerygone
New Zealand Fantail
Silver-eye
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| New Zealand Fantail |
New Zealand Kaka
Tui
Grey Gerygone
Whitehead
New Zealand Fantail
New Zealand Robin
Silver-eye
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| Whitehead |
Lousy nights sleep due to a mozzie invasion, killed 22 in the middle of the night and had peace afterwards. Awake at 7.00am and packed up to go to Kakaho Campground, which we were heading for yesterday along the link road, today we went around the sealed road, which was longer but we got there in one piece. Took an hour to drive around this way and only the last few km was gravel. Did the walk which said it took ½ hr but was more like 1 hr up and over a steep hill. Back at the campground we were welcomed by flocks of introduced species; Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Australian Magpie plus a feral Goat calling from an exposed rock behind the campground. It started to rain just as we got back to the van so had a coffee and left for Turangi. Stopped along the way at Tokaanu Wharf for lunch. This was a good spot to free camp as there was a good toilet block and also lots of waterbirds. There was some disruption due to a machine harvesting the floating weed in the estuary but the driver stopped for lunch, which allowed the birds to come closer. In between the drizzle we found a few new birds for the trip including New Zealand Grebe, Royal Spoonbill and Australian Shoveller also Australasian Pipit.
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| Australasian Pipit |
Canada Goose
Black Swan
Paradise Shelduck
Australian Shoveler
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
New Zealand Scaup
New Zealand Grebe
Australasian Swamphen
Pied Stilt
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Little Pied Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Royal Spoonbill
Swamp Harrier
Australian Magpie
Welcome Swallow
Australasian Pipit
Continued on to Turangi and found a basic campground ($24 a night), very 1960’s but as it turned out quite a nice quiet site. Cleaned up and went to town to find a phone box and re-fuel. Could not find a telephone in the shopping centre so drove around and still could not find one. Called into the internet café but that closed at 4.00pm! Fuelled up the van and went back to the shopping centre and found a phone but it was out of order. A lady in a nearby shop told us the only working phone was in the garage we had just been in, so back we went.
Friday 29th February 2008
Up at 6.00am and off at 7.40 to our first stop at Lake Rotopounamu after 13km and a 25 min drive into the hills. We walked around the lake which was either 5 or 6km depending on which sign you read, taking 3hrs to do it. The target bird Rifleman was found without too much difficulty, Lindsay seeing them first. Had the place to ourselves due to our early start and only met other people, when we were nearly back at the van. Had a coffee and continued on south to Whakapapa, which is a ski area on the slopes of a volcano. Checked out the info centre and Lindsay bought a T-shirt before having a treat over the road at a local cafe, a very nice lunch. Decided to continue up the road a further 6km to the ski lodges which were at 1648m. Pretty barren country with volcanic rocks from the three volcanoes in the area but good views of the surrounding areas. Came back down and did a 20 min walk to a waterfall before checking out a couple of nearby rivers, where one of the rangers said Blue Duck had been seen but no ducks around.
So it was now off to Ruatiti Domain, where most birders see the Blue Duck. Checked a few rivers along the way including one beside Blue Duck Cottage but not a sign of any ducks. Arrived at Ruatiti where people were fishing and floating down the river on inner tubes so no chance for the ducks. A false alarm saw us stalking what turned out to be Paradise Shelduck, at least that’s what they almost looked like as the seemed to have some Mallard in them! Set up the van away from the main camp where some party people had set up – kept away from them.
Back to the river where Lindsay found two Blue Duck preening on some rocks in the middle of the river, great views. Spent the next hour photographing the birds, getting closer and closer until I was only 5m from them. Great end to the day. Had a quiet evening downloading duck photos!
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| Blue Duck |
Ruatiti Domain, Manganui O te Ao River -39.31291 175.19732
Paradise Shelduck
Blue Duck
Red-billed Gull
Little Pied Cormorant
Swamp Harrier
Sacred Kingfisher
Grey Gerygone
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
Silver-eye
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
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| Blue Duck |
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| Blue Duck |
New Zealand Scaup
New Zealand Grebe
New Zealand Pigeon
New Zealand Kaka
Rifleman
Tui
New Zealand Bellbird
Grey Gerygone
Tomtit
New Zealand Robin
Fernbird
Silver-eye
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| New Zealand Grebe |
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| Feral Rooster |
Saturday 1st March 2008
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| Feral Rooster |
Up early at first light which was 6.30am and greeted with a red sky plus 3 Blue Duck flying over and calling. Left the Domain at 7.20 before stopping at the river bridge 1km from the campsite to have another look for the duck but only a lady trout fishing to be seen. Backtracked to Omakune, another ski town, where we bought some milk and the weekend paper from the local garage. The guy serving suggested we go down the road to the big carrot rest area for breakfast. There really was a big carrot at the side of the road and a pretty ordinary rest area (what’s new), anyway it did us for breakfast. Back into town to log on via the Telecom phone box which was an internet hotspot situated outside the information centre. Spent an hour sorting out emails at the side of the road before setting off along SH 49 to Waiouru where we joined SH 1 and continued south. Stopped for morning smoko after ¾ hr at a roadside stop where we were joined by a feral rooster and his three hens. The rooster was very smart and obviously used to getting handouts from passing motorists.
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| Feral Hen |
The next stop down SH 1 was Foxton where we headed for the beach which is a wader hotspot.
The tide was low but a few birds were to be seen including a colour banded Bar-tailed Godwit with a north island New Zealand white leg flag. We were joined by a local lady, Chris, who lived opposite the estuary near where we had parked. She had seen a Grey Plover, which was a rarity here with only three previous sightings, not so rare in Cairns. Anyway we had lunch and kept scanning the estuary and found a small wader with colour bands, after consulting the field guide we decided it was a Shore Plover, a rare and endangered New Zealand shorebird. Told Chris and she was excited so we headed along the shore for better looks. Found the bird and got good scope views and distant photos. Saw it once more as it flew away from us showing the broad wing band which is another ID feature. The photo here is just a record shot, highly cropped.
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| Shore Plover |
Drove back to our original spot on Darwick Street for a last look and a coffee before continuing south.
Foxton Beach--Manawatu estuary (general), -40.4749 175.2156
Pacific Black Duck
Mallard
Grey Teal
Pied Stilt
South Island Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Red-breasted Dotterel
Double-banded Plover
Shore Plover
Wrybill
Bar-tailed Godwit
Red Knot
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Black-billed Gull
Red-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
White-fronted Tern
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Swamp Harrier
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
European Starling
House Sparrow
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| Masked Lapwing |
Sunday 2nd March 2008
A gale raged most of the night with a little rain but the rain cleared by the morning and we were able to go for a walk down to the beach. It was still blowing a gale but it was clear enough for us to see Kapiti Island, would have been nice to get out to the island but it takes a lot of organising with permits and ferries to get there and we did not have the time to wait for paperwork. After breakfast we went back down to the beach to try and get photos of Variable Oystercatcher and Black-backed Gull in flight but it was too windy for any good shots.
Queen Elizabeth Park, Paekakariki Beach, -40.97413 174.95906
California Quail
Variable Oystercatcher
Black-billed Gull
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
European Starling
House Sparrow
Drove back onto SH 1 and headed for Wellington where we eventually found Zealandia after missing the turn off from SH 1. Pretty impressive place with a huge fence surrounding the sanctuary. Spent the rest of the morning walking some of the paths within the sanctuary. Being a weekend it was quite crowded plus a cruise boat was in and hoards were being bused in from it. We did manage to find a few quiet spots and eventually found a Stitchbird coming into a feeder.
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| Stitchbird - female |
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| New Zealand Bellbird |
Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary (General), -41.2954325 174.7487384
Mallard
Little Pied Cormorant
Grey Gerygone
Whitehead
North Island Saddleback
Stitchbird
New Zealand Fantail
Silver-eye
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Chaffinch
Monday 3rd March 2008
Glad to get out of the van park and back into town to join SH4 in the drizzle. Turned off the highway to take a back road through Jerusalem and Pipiriki – big mistake. Started off OK with great views of the impressive Whanganui River as we went up and down the hilly, windy, narrow road but the bitumen road soon gave way to a gravel road, which due to the recent rain had become muddy and chopped up with bad corrugations in places. The maps we had gave conflicting distances of sealed road but at least 40km was unsealed. There was road gangs working on some sections and some parts had recently been sealed but it was not very pleasant to drive along and did the van no good. However we and the van seemed to survive the trip. Joined the bitumen 16km before the junction with SH 4 again; this section was only sealed because it led to an area of logging.
Back onto SH 4 we headed north to National Park Village, where we hoped to use the phone to organise a revised trip to Tiritiri but the phone was out of order so we continued on to Taumarunui. Here we found a phone that actually worked and we phoned the conservation department in Warkworth to organise Tiritiri but the phone card ran out part way through the booking procedure. Had to buy another card that was only sold at the Post Office but this was hidden away in a back street, which we eventually found. So tried again and got it organised this time but used up $7.00 on the card, not so easy for the ferry though as we could not get through. After all this hassle we decided we deserved lunch in town so found a cafe in the main street, which served up a nice lunch and a big cup of coffee.
Bought a few supplies and fuelled up before we left town heading north still on SH 4. Passed through Te Kuiti and turned off north to Waitomo Caves. Very touristy but we had not come to do black water rafting, caving or go looking for glow worms, we had come to find the New Zealand Falcon which had been seen here by other birders. We passed the tourist shops and went to Ruakuri Caves car park, where we had an afternoon coffee and looked for the falcon. Heard them call a few times, the second time way off in the distance. We drove further along the road, which turned into gravel, in the direction of where the falcon had been but only heard a couple of calls from in the valley. It was getting late by now so we decided to stay in the Van Park, which had about 20 other vans in it but that was not a problem. The park was fairly new and well set up. We will try for the falcons tomorrow.
Ruakuri Caves Scenic Reserve, Waitomo Caves, -38.26032 175.10397
Masked Lapwing
Swamp Harrier
Sacred Kingfisher
New Zealand Falcon - heard
Tui
New Zealand Bellbird
Grey Gerygone
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
New Zealand Robin
Welcome Swallow
Silver-eye
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
House Sparrow
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| Australian Magpie |
Had a lazy start to the day as we slept in before packing up to go back to Ruakuri Caves car park for breakfast and to look for the falcons. The cooked breakfast was OK but the falcons were not, no sign of them not even a call. We drove back down the gravel road, where we had been the previous night, did get a distant fleeting glimpse of a falcon but not enough to count on our life list.
We went back to the van park and rang the ferry people to organised the trip to Tiritiri. From here we went the short distance to the Kiwi House Native Bird Park at Otorohanga, which had been recommended to us. We were not impressed. First we had trouble parking as the area was not very big, this was mainly because most of the cars appeared to be teachers bringing in school kids. Eventually got a park and paid our $15.00 each to get in, the souvenir shop was tacky and it went downhill from there. The place was run-down and badly in need of an upgrade to the cages and facilities, most of the birds appeared to be injured and looked unhappy but there was one highlight and that was the nocturnal house. This had Great Spotted Kiwi and Brown Kiwi in it, very impressive bird and bigger than we had imagined. Nearly forgot there were also a few reptiles, some we could find others were hiding.
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| New Zealand Falcon (captive) |
Headed out of town onto SH 39 looking for a place to stop but none until we reached Pirongia, where there was a rest area we could have our late lunch in. We were entertained by a coach load of Japanese, mainly ladies, trying to fit into the toilet beside the rest area. Kept going along SH39 to Whatawhata, where we turned off onto SH 23 to Raglan. Arrived at the harbour and scanned for waders, not much here; a few Pied Stilt, two White-faced Heron, one Little Pied Cormorant, Kelp (Black-backed) Gull and quite a few South Island Oystercatcher. Pulled up at an area overlooking the harbour and had a coffee before going into town and finding the holiday park, cheap ($24.00) and basic. Spent the afternoon and evening relaxing. We had thought of going into town for fush and chups but it started to sprinkle with rain so we gave that idea away.
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| Kelp (Black-backed) Gull |
Pacific Black Duck
Mallard.
Pied Stilt
South Island Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Black-billed Gull
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Caspian Tern
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Welcome Swallow
European Starling
European Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Wednesday 5th March 2008
Could not wait to get out of the van park and down to the harbour for a nice cooked breakfast. After breakfast we backtracked to SH 1 at Whatawhata and headed north to Auckland via various motorways. Pulled over at Mercer into a service area, where we had a break and morning coffee. Then back onto SH 1 and the motorway over Auckland Harbour Bridge, which was not as windy as the previous trip over it. Still a mad house of cars zooming along but we gradually dropped them off at various turn off’s. Kept heading north until the Silverdale junction to turn off to Orewa for some supplies. Had lunch alongside the beach, where we watched the antics of the gulls trying to get some food. One was on the wing mirror of a car taking handouts from the driver through the window.
Then went north to Waiwera, where we thought we might stay the night but the van park looked grotty so we decided to go back to Orewa and the Top Ten Park there. This was marginally better than the Waiwera one but was jammed in between the main road and the beach. Also no Wi-Fi access so no internet tonight, downloaded photos instead. Then off to the better surroundings of the beach to cook up dinner before returning to the van park.
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| Red-billed Gull |
Thursday 6th March 2008
Up and off by 7.00am to drive the 14km to Gulf Harbour where we checked out the location of wharf Z, where the ferry departed from. Drove down to the wharf and dropped of the gear before returning to the car park next to the Fullers 360 administration office to leave the van overnight, this area has 24hr security.
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| Gulf Harbour |
We walked up the road, whilst most of the other people on board went off on guided walks. It is a 25min walk to the Lighthouse and bunkhouse but we took much longer as we were birding. Along the way there is a pool famous for Spotless Crake but it had dried out and only just filled with water again so there was no crake to be seen. Plenty of other birds flying around and calling on the way up.
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| Tiritiri Bunkhouse |
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| South Island Takahe |
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| Bird Feeder |
Friday 7th March 2008
Up at the crack of 7.00am after a lousy nights sleep. Had breakfast and headed out onto the East Coast Track. A pair of North Island Kokako greeted us at the start of the track, probably the same ones at the feeder yesterday. Nobody else around which was good as we could take our time and stop frequently for a rest or to take photos, including this Red-crowned Parakeet.
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| Red-crowned Parakeet |
The track is very steep in places but there are plenty of seats for a rest and the scenery is pretty stunning, especially as we had the most idyllic day with sunshine and little cloud. Added a few new birds to our Tiritiri list along the track, notably a Fernwren by Fisherman’s Bay plus Australasian Harrier, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch and Silvereye. Spent the day on the East Coast Track, Kewerau Track and the Wattle Track.
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| View from Tiritiri to mainland |
Back at the Visitor Centre by the lighthouse we did some shopping and had a coffee before sorting out the bags and relaxing until it was time to go down to the wharf.
6-7th March -36.6007143 174.89007 Tiritiri Matangi--general
Little Spotted Kiwi
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| Brown Quail |
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| Brown Teal |
Brown Quail
New Zealand Pigeon
South Island Takahe
Australasian Swamphen
Variable Oystercatcher
Kelp Gull
Grey Petrel
Fluttering Shearwater
Little Shearwater
Australasian Gannet
Pied Cormorant
Swamp Harrier
Sacred Kingfisher
Red-crowned Parakeet
Tui
New Zealand Bellbird
Grey Gerygone
Whitehead
North Island Kokako
North Island Saddleback
Stitchbird
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
New Zealand Robin
Welcome Swallow
Fernbird
Silver-eye
Eurasian Blackbird
European Starling
Common Myna
Common Chaffinch
European Goldfinch
Yellowhammer
House Sparrow
Whilst waiting for the boat we were interviewed by some school girls who were doing an assignment on the island. They wanted to know what we thought of the island and if we thought it was a worthwhile project that was being managed properly.
Back at Gulf Harbour we got tangled up in a yacht race, which was just finishing, some very expensive boats floating by. Picked up the van and headed north to Warkworth and out onto the coast at Sandspit. There was one holiday park here so we did not have a choice of where to stay, one thing in its favour was a restaurant on the wharf, which we booked in to. Checked into the most bizarre campsite yet, it had a recently built heritage village in the middle of it which set the tone of the place. Just about everything about the place was very odd. Anyway we got a site, a shower and a change of clothes before walking down to the restaurant. Had a great meal overlooking the water beside the ferry terminal plus a bottle of wine. Staggered home!
Saturday 8th March 2008
Slept in until 6.50am and got organised, as usual we were one of the first to get up as most people seem to sleep in until at least 7.30am. After breakfast we headed out of this quirky place for Warkworth. Parked in town and had a look around before finding a place which had email access. Logged on to their machine and checked emails. We then had a cappuccino, nice big cups and only $3.00. We liked Warkworth as it had a nice feel to it, also reminded us of Maleny, up in the hills behind Brisbane. Headed north on SH 1 before turning of onto SH 12, stopped at Ruawai on the Wairoa River for lunch.
Experimented with exposures on a few White-fronted Tern at the boat ramp as well as a few scavenging Red-billed Gull.
Kept going north from here along the straightest and flattest road we have come across so far! Turned of at the Trounson Karri Park exit and booked into the Top Ten Holiday Park. This turned out to be the best one yet, nice setting and well maintained. Checked in and also booked for the evening walk ($20 each) to look for Kiwi’s. It started to drizzle just before the 8.30pm evening walk but we still went off in the mini-bus to drive the 5km to the park. We started the walk from the car park area and checked out the very large Kairi trees, which were up to 1200 years old, very impressive. Also saw Glow Worms, Karri Snail, Eel, Crayfish, Weka and eventually a Northern Brown Kiwi was spotted. It ran off in a hurry and Lindsay unfortunately missed it. The walk was good value and we learnt a bit about what was left of the forest in this area.
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| White-fronted Tern |
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| White-fronted Tern |
Kauri Coast Top Ten Holiday Park, -35.74943 173.67419
New Zealand Pigeon
Little Pied Cormorant
Grey Gerygone
New Zealand Fantail
Silver-eye
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
House Sparrow
Trounson Karri Park, -35.72491 173.64792
North Island Brown Kiwi
Paradise Shelduck
New Zealand Pigeon
Southern Boobook
Eastern Rosella
Tui
Grey Gerygone
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
Tomtit
Welcome Swallow
Silver-eye
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
European Starling
Common Myna
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| New Zealand Pigeon |
Woke up after 7.00am - a lie in! Organised ourselves and drove down to Trounson Karri Park campground for breakfast. Had a cooked breakfast as it was Sunday. A lady from Dept. Of Conservation turned up to collect the camping fees but as we did not camp there we did not have to pay. She told us that they actually have 4 powered sites, which we had not found out about in any of the literature we had read. Did the walk in the daylight and could relate to what we had seen the night before. Nothing startling with the birds here, plenty of Common Myna and European Starling who had found a great place to live. They had the open paddocks adjacent to the forest to feed in and the large trees in the forest, which had plenty of hollows to nest in, perfect for them. Also Eastern Rosella in the forest calling away along with Australian Magpie, just like home in Australia! Back to the campground to take advantage of the kitchen, which was ancient and badly in need of an upgrade but it did the job.
From the Trounson Karri Park we took the gravel road for 11km via Kaitui to join up with SH 12 and onto Waipoua Forest. Here we checked out the information Center, where there was a good display of the history of the area, mainly logging of the Kairi Trees. We decided not to do any of the walks but to go up to the picnic area alongside the river and have morning coffee. After a relax we hit the road again (SH 12) and travelled along some winding narrow roads through the forest until we reached a cleared area, where the road widened out. This took us to Kaikoha and then onto Kerikeri, where we had lunch in the car park beside the river and were entertained by Red-billed Gull.
From Kerikeri we took a short drive to Aroha Island Ecological Centre, which was actually on Aroha Island! The island is accessed by a short causeway and the centre has 12ha of the area. We booked into a powered campsite and had the place to ourselves, this was more like the places we like. Checked out the estuary for waders but only found the usual ones like Variable and South Island Oystercatcher and Pied Stilt. After dinner we went out spotlighting, doing 21/2 laps of the center but only hearing the Kiwi’s not seeing them – grrrr.
Monday 10th March 2008
Great night having the place to ourselves and no rush in the morning. Checked out the beach for waders again but the tide was to high. Had breakfast and a shower before checking out the other accommodation they had to offer, self contained units and bunkhouse. Quite a good set up and a good place to stay once they get their pricing right, which is a bit high at the moment.
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| Australian Swamphen |
North Island Brown Kiwi
African Collared-Dove
Australasian Swamphen
Pied Stilt
South Island Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Caspian Tern
White-fronted Tern
Little Pied Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Pacific Reef-Heron
Southern Boobook
Sacred Kingfisher
Tui
Grey Gerygone
New Zealand Fantail
Silver-eye
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
European Greenfinch
House Sparrow
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| Eurasian Blackbird |
Tuesday 11th March 2008
The courtesy coach picked us up at 9.15am to take us down to the wharf, where we boarded a boat load of tourists (we were not tourists!) to spend the day around the Bay of Islands.
Beautiful day with the sun shining as we went from island to island getting a commentary on the history of the buildings and significance of each island. Mainly colonised by missionaries who had a few run-ins with the local Maori’s. Nothing of note with the birds, just a few Australasian Gannet floating around plus cormorants and gulls. Stopped of at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island for lunch at the resort. Pretty poor lunch menu, we had a couple of non exciting sandwiches and the worst coffee we have had for ages. Came out of a machine but was supposed to be a flat white, it was white alright hardly any coffee and also frothy. Lindsay complained and was given another couple of the same – yeuk. Certainly would not recommend the food we had today, we can only hope that we had a bad day.
Urupukapuka Island -35.220678, 174.232111
We headed out to the open sea, where we hoped to see a few seabirds but were disappointed with only a few glimpses of Fluttering and Hutton’s Shearwater, Red-billed Gull and Australasian Gannet. Plenty of shoals of fish including Trevally and another blue unidentified fish. From the open sea we headed back into the bay area to pick up some more people from the resort back at our lunch stop. It was then a half hour run to the wharf at Paihia, where we arrived at 4.15pm. A great day out!
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| Bay of Islands |
Urupukapuka Island -35.220678, 174.232111
Paradise Shelduck
Variable Oystercatcher
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Tui
Grey Gerygone
Common Myna
House Sparrow
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| Red-billed Gull |
Russell 10' Cell (Bay of Islands Trip), -35.25 174.08333
Paradise Shelduck
Variable Oystercatcher
Red-breasted Dotterel
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Buller's Shearwater
Fluttering Shearwater
Australasian Gannet
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
Tui
New Zealand Fantail
Common Myna
House Sparrow
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| Kelp Gull |
Mt. Bledisloe, -35.26089 174.04633
North Island Brown Kiwi
Southern Boobook
Grey Gerygone
New Zealand Fantail
Welcome Swallow
Silver-eye
Wednesday 12th March 2008
10-12th March Paihia Beachside Holiday Park, -35.30053 174.10223
Mallard
African Collared-Dove
New Zealand Pigeon
Pied Stilt
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| White-fronted Tern |
Variable Oystercatcher
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Caspian Tern
White-fronted Tern
Australasian Gannet
Little Black Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Pacific Reef-Heron
Southern Boobook
Sacred Kingfisher
Tui
Grey Gerygone
New Zealand Fantail
Silver-eye
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
House SparrowHad breakfast before leaving and heading south to Whangarei in the mist, which was mainly in the valleys. We found the wharf area and parked up near the National Clock Museum before finding a café, where we had a coffee and shared a muffin. The Red-billed Gull and Kelp (Black-backed) Gull along with the House Sparrow made a nuisance of themselves hanging around, on and over the tables.
Left town and headed south on SH 1 for Ruakaka Estuary - a site listed in the "Where to watch Birds in New Zealand" book. Turned of the highway and missed the beach turn off but did find the shopping centre, where we stopped for a few supplies. Headed to where we thought the beach was but ended up at the oil refinery! Anyway we were not tempted to go into the refinery visitor centre! We turned around and retraced our steps until we found the beach turnoff and the beach. Not very exciting for birds (good for fishing) so we had our lunch instead of birding. Next we continued on south along the coast heading for Waipu Estuary, where there is a wildlife refuge reserve.
Here we met the only other birdwatchers we had come across apart from the crowd at Miranda. It was high tide and there were waders about 200m north of the road parking area. Red-breasted (New Zealand) Dotterel, Double-banded Dotterel, Bar-tailed Godwit, Pied Stilt and Variable Oystercatcher on the sandbar. We walked along a rock groyne to get a better view of the birds on the other side of the river mouth and scanned the terns looking for New Zealand Fairy Tern Sternula nereis davisae, most endangered of New Zealand's endemic birds. However they were all White-fronted Tern with a few Caspian Tern. Little Pied Cormorant were gathered on the opposite bank. By this time the tide had started to turn and was rushing past the groyne uncovering more sandbars, which started to get a few more birds flying onto them, Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone (1st for trip) and then Lindsay spotted 3 terns on another sandbar – New Zealand Fairy Tern! Only supposed to be 40 left or 12 breeding pairs depending on which book you read. Mission accomplished, two new trip list ticks and one a lifer.
Waipu Estuary, -35.99644 174.48215
Drove south and joined up with SH 1 heading south passing through Warkworth again, we were not tempted to head to Sandspit this time! Found Wenderholme Regional Park and booked in for a site in the car park! Had dinner and checked out the birdlife on the beach before going to bed at 9.00pm.
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| Red-breasted (New Zealand) Dotterel - non-breeding |
Australasian Swamphen
Pied Stilt
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Red-breasted Dotterel
Double-banded Plover
Bar-tailed Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Black-billed Gull
Red-billed Gull
New Zealand Fairy Tern
White-fronted Tern
Caspian Tern
Little Pied Cormorant
Welcome Swallow
Common Myna
House Sparrow
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| Variable Oystercatcher |
Thursday 13th March 2008
Another lazy start to our last full day in New Zealand. Went for a walk to the mouth of the river where we had Californian Quail in the adjacent bushes trying to sound like Fernbird or Buff-banded Rail! Further around on the beach were 3 Red-breasted (New Zealand) Dotterel, which breed here but apparently not very successfully this season according to the ranger. Photographed Kelp (Black-backed Gull) up a tree plus a few feral ducks and Blackbirds.
12-13th March Wenderholm RP-36.53305 174.71111
Pacific Black Duck
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| Kelp Gull |
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| Wenderholme Regional Park |
Mallard
California Quail
Australasian Swamphen
Pied Stilt
South Island Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Red-breasted Dotterel
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Pacific Reef-Heron
Sacred Kingfisher
Eastern Rosella
Tui
Grey Gerygone
Australian Magpie
New Zealand Fantail
Welcome Swallow
Silver-eye
Song Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
Common Myna
European Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Headed for Auckland about 11.30am, bypassing Orewa this time and going straight onto the motorway to join the mad rush to Auckland. Successfully negotiated the motorway and crazy drivers to get to Manukau shopping centre for lunch. Found the Coffee Club tucked away which was quieter than the main eatery with all the usual junk food outlets. Had a nice wrap each and coffee before we treated ourselves to a haircut each. Left the shopping centre and fuelled up at $1.77, which was expensive as further down the road nearer the airport it was only $1.63. Got the van back to the depot in one piece and sorted out the paperwork before they took us in the courtesy bus to our overnight motel. Pretty basic place but adequate for an overnight stop. Booked into the restaurant, which again looked pretty ordinary, and so it was very ordinary food. Then a real bed for the night.
Friday 14th March 2008
Up at 5.00am and off to the airport. Queued up for 10 mins before realising we were in the wrong counter! So had to join another queue, eventually checked in and then were told we had to get departure tax tickets at $25.00 each, so queued up again. Went through customs and security, where I was checked all over for explosives! By this time it was almost time to board the plane so no coffee here. Boarded the 737 for the trip to Brisbane, pretty full plane. Had a cooked breakfast on the way over.
Arrived in Brisbane to chaos, queued up for immigration then went to collect bags but the carousel they were on broke down and we had to wait 20mins with no announcement as to what was going on. Eventually a fellow passenger told us the baggage was coming out of another carousel. Retrieved luggage and then joined a huge snaking queue for at least 30 mins heading for customs. Luckily got fast tracked through otherwise we would have been there another 30 mins. Next off to get the luggage transferred to the domestic flight. No sign of a trolley for the luggage in the foyer so joined another queue to check in, were not sure if this was the correct one or not as there was no clear signage and no sign with the lable we had been given in Auckland to lookout for. Anyway turned out we were in the right place and eventually got the luggage checked in. Then off to the railway station to get the train which did not come for 20 mins. So it took 1½ hours to get from international to domestic terminal. No time for coffee again so we joined the other passengers and boarded the flight to Cairns, which left 10 mins late. They tried to make up time but were thwarted by air traffic control in Cairns who sent the plane in the long way – up the coast passing Cairns and turning around north of Port Douglas for the approach to the airport. Landed in the rain 10 mins late before driving up the coast, stopping off at Ellis Beach for lunch, then back to Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge at Julatten.
2019 Update: Since our visit in 2008 there has been a revelation in online information and apps. A few are listed below.
Apps:-
Birds of New Zealand
Birds of New Zealand (Free)
Websites:-
NZ Birds Online
Birding NZ
Fat Birder
Birds New Zealand
Don't forget eBird NZ for lots of information, species and sites, and for recording your sightings.
PLACES TO CAMP NORTH ISLAND NZ
An excellent information centre, book shop and accommodation. They let us park our van in the car park and use their facilities for $20. Walking tracks along the beach area to a bird hide at the high tide roost.
Just north of Coromandel town. A Top Ten park on the beach.
Access from route 30 to the Field Centre. Camping close by and not far from the canopy lookout which was a great place to watch birds. Don’t try to use the Link Road, which connects to the Kakaho camp site onTaupo side of the park, as it is really rough. We went to there later (the long way round) and it is another good place to camp and there is a nice forest walk there too.
The place to see Blue Duck. The turnoff is 4km north of Raetihi and the Domain is about 16km following a very windy narrow road. As the Blue Duck are only active late afternoon and early morning, it is best to camp (Freedom Camping) here next to the Manganui o te Ao River. There are toilets and a picnic area. (More detailed directions in ‘Where to watch birds in New Zealand’)
Close to the beach and Queen Elizabeth Park which is an excellent area with walking tracks through the dunes. (Very few holiday parks along this stretch of the coast.)
A very new Top Ten park close to the Caves.
Another Top Ten and one of the nicest places we stayed. Overlooking a river and a 15 min drive to Trounson Kauri Park. They do night walks there which was worth doing (Keith saw a Brown Kiwi, Lindsay didn’t!)
Access by a causeway, it is a beautiful spot away from the hoards. Check the link for their website.
Just south of Paihia on a secluded beach.
Just 30 min drive to Gulf Harbour and Tiritiri. You can camp overnight by using the phone in the information booth and paying by credit card. The gates to the park are locked overnight. We had the place to ourselves. There is also Shakespear RP close to Gulf Harbour, but we didn’t go there.
There is a car park at Gulf Harbour if visiting for the day. If staying on Tiri overnight, park in the car park near the café (we asked and they said it was OK). There is 24 hour security there. Do take extra food as it is quite possible that you can get caught by the weather. Our first booking was cancelled and we had to go later in the holiday. Wonderful place!
- “The Hand Guide to the Birds of NZ”. The light version of “The Filed Guide to the Birds of NZ” and an OK guide
- “Where to Watch Birds in NZ”. Kathy Ombler, New Holland, 2007
Quite useful though seems to miss some really good places like Aroha Island. Mentions quite a few places that you need to get permission to access, which isn’t much good when you are travelling. Ruakaka Beach (south of Whangarie), wasn’t very good, but just down the coast was a reserve at Waipu Cove (not in the book), which was brilliant and we saw Fairy terns there.
- Check out information centres for Holiday Park guides, information booklets and maps. The free maps are not too detailed and we ended up buying a road map book – worth the expense for the time and traumas saved!
- Beware of Holiday Parks next to the beach as they are usually full of permanent and weekender caravans and can be pretty awful. Worth paying a bit extra to stay in a Top Ten Holiday Park which usually have a higher standard and no permanents.
Tips for campervans.
- Use green shopping bags to keep your groceries in the cupboards. Stops everything falling about and a cool bag is great for fruit and vegetables.
- Be sure you know just how the fridge works. It turned out that ours didn’t charge up when we were driving, only when plugged into the mains. Result was wasted food.
- Use old milk bottles for storing water – a lot quicker than using the pump all the time.
- A roll of paper towel, cling wrap and clip seal bags all make life easier in the kitchen!
- Leave your Holiday Park early and find a pleasant spot to stop for breakfast. Go ‘out for dinner’ in the evening (in summer months) and park somewhere nice to cook dinner away from the hoards.
- Power outlets in campervans and Holiday Parks are different to domestic power. Not sure if it is possible to get an adaptor if you plan to stay with friends and use your van.
- Clothes pegs are great for fixing gaps in the curtains at night to stop light getting in.
Bird Species Seen
North Island Brown Kiwi - Apteryx mantelli
Little Spotted Kiwi - Apteryx owenii
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis
Black Swan - Cygnus atratus
Paradise Shelduck - Tadorna variegata
Blue Duck - Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos
Australasian Shoveler - Spatula rhynchotis
Pacific Black Duck - Anas superciliosa
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos
Grey Teal - Anas gracilis
Brown Teal - Anas chlorotis
New Zealand Scaup - Aythya novaeseelandiae
California Quail - Callipepla californica
Brown Quail - Synoicus ypsilophorus
New Zealand Grebe - Poliocephalus rufopectus
African Collared-Dove - Streptopelia roseogrisea
New Zealand Pigeon - Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo - Chrysococcyx lucidus
South Island Takahe - Porphyrio hochstetteri
Australasian Swamphen - Porphyrio melanotus
Pied Stilt - Himantopus leucocephalus
South Island Oystercatcher - Haematopus finschi
Variable Oystercatcher - Haematopus unicolor
Pacific Golden-Plover - Pluvialis fulva
Masked Lapwing - Vanellus miles
Red-breasted Dotterel - Charadrius obscurus
Greater Sand-Plover - Charadrius leschenaultii
Double-banded Plover - Charadrius bicinctus
Shore Plover - Thinornis novaeseelandiae
Wrybill - Anarhynchus frontalis
Bar-tailed Godwit - Limosa lapponica
Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
Red Knot - Calidris canutus
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - Calidris acuminata
Red-necked Stint - Calidris ruficollis
Black-billed Gull - Chroicocephalus bulleri
Red-billed Gull - Chroicocephalus scopulinus
Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus
Fairy Tern - Sternula nereis
Caspian Tern - Hydroprogne caspia
White-fronted Tern - Sterna striata
Crested Tern - Thalasseus bergii
Grey Petrel - Procellaria cinerea
Buller's Shearwater - Ardenna bulleri
Fluttering Shearwater - Puffinus gavia
Little Shearwater - Puffinus assimilis
Australasian Gannet - Morus serrator
Little Pied Cormorant - Microcarbo melanoleucos
Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo
Little Black Cormorant - Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Pied Cormorant - Phalacrocorax varius
White-faced Heron - Egretta novaehollandiae
Eastern Reef Egret - Egretta sacra
Royal Spoonbill - Platalea regia
Swamp Harrier - Circus approximans
Southern Boobook - Ninox novaeseelandiae
Sacred Kingfisher - Todiramphus sanctus
New Zealand Falcon - Falco novaeseelandiae - Heard, glimpse
New Zealand Kaka - Nestor meridionalis
Red-crowned Parakeet - Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae
Yellow-crowned Parakeet - Cyanoramphus auriceps
Eastern Rosella - Platycercus eximius
Rifleman - Acanthisitta chloris
Tui - Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
New Zealand Bellbird - Anthornis melanura
Grey Gerygone - Gerygone igata
Whitehead - Mohoua albicilla
North Island Kokako - Callaeas wilsoni
North Island Saddleback - Philesturnus rufusater
Stitchbird - Notiomystis cincta
Australian Magpie - Gymnorhina tibicen
New Zealand Fantail - Rhipidura fuliginosa
Tomtit - Petroica macrocephala
New Zealand Robin - Petroica australis
Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis
Welcome Swallow - Hirundo neoxena
Fernbird - Megalurus punctatus
Silvereye - Zosterops lateralis
Song Thrush - Turdus philomelos
Common Blackbird - Turdus merula
Common Starling - Sturnus vulgaris
Common Myna - Acridotheres tristis
Australasian Pipit - Anthus novaeseelandiae
Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs
European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris
European Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis
Yellowhammer - Emberiza citrinella
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus
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