This is the final birdwatching entry from our Southern Swing 2018-2019. A few previous posts discussed the North Island, Stewart Island, and our Pelagic bird-watching. The focus of this trip on the South Island wasn’t really about the birds but just experiencing everything the island had to offer. We did take every opportunity to view the birds when we were at different locations. I also mentioned earlier that it was ‘possible’ for us to see around 150 birds … but I thought 75 was the more realistic goal, so that’s what we went after! At the end of our trip we counted up and had 80 birds on our New Zealand list. Wow. A great number considering it wasn’t our primary focus. Of those 80, 59 were brand new birds. We finagled a few new ones on the South Island but the majority really came from the previous three trips.
There were only two or three native birds we didn’t see that I thought we had a chance: 1) Kea, 2) Shining Cuckoo, and 3) Fernbird. Otherwise, we saw all the other common native birds. The Moorpork (Owl), Kiwi, and Takahae were in captivity but cool to see anyway. Here are a few pictures of birds from the South Island not in previous posts.
First off is this little guy: the Rifleman. This bird is about the size of my thumb … just a tiny fellow! We felt very fortunate to be able to call them in and get these photos. They are almost as active as a hummingbird so never sitting still. Enjoyed seeing them on Stewart Island and on the South Island.
This is a set of birds that were “imported” from Europe. The European Goldfinch, the Green Finch, and the Yellowhammer. We saw several others to include Starlings, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, etc. Pretty birds nonetheless … just not native.
Here are the Takahes. There are about 300 of these birds alive — captive or otherwise. They were originally considered extinct but were discovered in a remote area of the island and are now being bred back to a sustainable level. A beautiful, big flightless bird.
Another couple of native birds. The Tomtit … just a wee fellow. About the same size as the Robin. We saw him in the mountains in New Zealand. We also saw this Blue Duck, a rare native as well. A strange looking duck. We saw this native Stilt: a Pied Stilt; also known as a Black-winged Stilt.
This is an Australasian Crested Grebe. I felt fortunate to see it — twice! Hard to photograph, but cool!
As with most things, when you are seriously always looking for birds you’ll see what you want to see! I saw these two “ducks” below — and still photographed them. I think I need to get my prescription updated …
Well, that wraps up the birdwatching portion of our Southern Swing. Eight countries, six guided trips, and a whole lot of leg work, photography, and sorting in four months. We saw over 410 new birds. It was just an incredible trip and a fantastic birdwatching adventure. Until next time!
Stumbling Piper
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