First day in the Cooks

I woke from a sleep troubled by crabs on the bedroom floor, mynas calling outside and siblings calling inside. Remembering where I was, I grabbed my binoculars, shook Shoshanah awake and we walked outside. Our semiconsciousness was soon driven away by the beautiful White Terns flying and calling overhead - similarly to other terns, the illusion of elegance was soon shattered by the incredible banal and grating calls. The Brown Noddies that joined them remained wisely silent. Lured onwards by the crash of the surf, we stumbled over coral and rocks to arrive at the sea. A Reef Heron gave us the cold shoulder while we strained our eyes looking out to sea, unintelligible grunts punctuated by remarks of "should have brought the scope". Our wandering feet far from satisfied, we walked back inland and soon picked up a veritable convoy of misplaced dogs. They insisted on snapping at any Red Junglefowl that came our way, while we waved our fervent apologies to the cars that had to give way to our canine tagalongs. Other than a Pacific Imperial-Pigeon sitting inconspicuously in a coconut tree, no further birds were found despite our diligent scanning of the orchards and plantations. Our spirits undampened, we headed back for breakfast.

Amidst the general first-day sightseeing, Shosh and I managed to fit in a solid seawatch in Avarua yielding… no seabirds. On the bright side, we pinned down a Wandering Tattler (split from its similar Grey-tailed cousin by the flight call) out on the rocks, and a White-tailed Tropicbird riding the thermals inland. To my frustration, a possible Herald Petrel disappeared before I could clinch the ID.

The rest of the day was spent snorkeling and relaxing in one of the most beautiful places I had ever visited, as we dreamt up our next few days on the island. Despite managing a measly 9 species, two-thirds were new birds for me and they were all stunning. Except for the mynas.

A Pacific Imperial-Pigeon checking us out from a coconut tree

Marooned!

I write this from my cramped aeroplane seat, dreaming of the birds that might have been.

After many months of eager anticipation, the day had come. My family, girlfriend and I were off to the gorgeous Cook Islands for a whole week! Alongside the swimming, hiking and general touristing, we had been busy drooling over Rarotonga's unique birdlife. Upon our arrival at the airport, however, we were met with an unwelcome surprise - our flight had been cancelled! Fortunately, Jetstar put us up in one of the flashest hotels I'd ever stayed in (not saying much!) and we were due to fly out the next day. As soon as I had finished coming to terms with our truncated holiday, I begun to plan. Our luxurious accommodation was only twenty minutes walk from Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant - a real hotspot for the area, and offering some tempting year-listers. And so the next morning, our bellies full from the breakfast buffet (courtesy of Uncle Jetstar), we waddled to Puketutu Island and the surrounding canals and ponds.

It was a hot morning spent birding, mostly quite pleasant but punctuated by the periodic wafts of raw sewage. Birders are weird. Despite running out of time to sift through wader flocks, the canal yielded a single Brown Teal and a female Scaup, along with some nice Grey Duck and Royal Spoonbills. We wound up on around 40 species for the day, not bad considering that we only had time for the ponds!

After we had trudged back to the hotel, we headed (back) to the airport and took off - for real this time!

A Little Pied Shag keeping its distance

A pretty pure Grey Duck next to a Mallard

A Brown Teal between two Mallards

Female Scaup

A nervous Variable Oystercatcher

Dipping in the Firth of Thames

My alarm woke me at the hideous hour of 4am, a time when sensible birds and people are in bed. The moreporks kept me company while I loaded my scope, camera, binoculars into the boot of my car and set off by 4:30. Picking up my birding companion and best friend Shoshanah on the way, we headed north towards Whangamarino wetland for our first stop. We got out at Falls Road, but rather than hearing the crakes, bitterns and fernbirds that we were expecting, we heard nothing but the whine of mosquitoes and a single morepork that was staying up late. Our attempts at silence were punctuated by our attempts to end the insects that were causing us so much grief, to no avail. No time to waste, as the sun was beginning to rise.

Miranda was our next stop, and we were awestruck by the thousands of birds wheeling around our heads as the sky begun to lighten. Pied Stilts, Bar-tailed Godwits and Red Knot were all abundant and vocal, while around thirty Pacific Golden-Plovers were roosting beside the carpark. Not content with these beautiful migrants, we resolved to chase down the Broad-billed Sandpiper that had been making an appearance over the past few weeks. After sifting through masses of birds next to the Stilt Hide, we had seen Wrybill, Turnstone and New Zealand Dotterel, but nothing smaller or broad-billier. Walking further down the track, we were in luck - a Pectoral and a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper were both feeding alongside Banded Dotterels, and we strained our eyes for the Red-necked Stint group that the broadie had been hanging out with.

Another hour of searching, and no luck. We trudged back to the Godwit hide and were astounded by the closeness of the birds now that the tide had receded - Shoshanah managed to pick out the three Far Eastern Curlew that had been overwintering, a nice consolation prize. No more time to waste, so we drove to the East Piako flood plains to search the flooded stopbank for a Hudsonian Godwit. Out of luck again - we scrutinised each and every godwit and found only Bar-tailed. Another dip.

Undeterred, Thames Bird Hide was our next stop - a crummy, graffitied hut only 300 metres or so from the town centre - surely the least likely spot for good birds. Nevertheless, there were two Brown Teal right outside - pretty good birds! Bracing ourselves for heavy traffic, we were pleasantly surprised to find empty roads up the west coast of the Coromandel peninsula, meaning that we could nab Spotted Shags only a few metres away! Seawatching was fruitless, however, and we had only Australasian Gannets for company - no skua or shearwaters that we expected. All in all we had racked up a spectacular 'dip list' - Curlew Sandpiper, Hudsonian Godwit, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Fluttering Shearwater, Arctic Skua... the list goes on! Regardless, we had a superb morning out and it was a great start to Christmas.

A cute immature White-faced Heron

Ruddy Turnstones amidst Wrybill

A distant but distinctive Far-Eastern Curlew

A pair of Brown Teal

On the Maunga

Well, work got in the way (again!). But that's ok, it turns out I need money for next year...

My girlfriend and I managed to free up a Saturday morning, so we did what all normal people do - we went birding! Rather than electing to spend the day squinting through heat haze on the coast or trudging through mud in the swamps, we opted for the relative ease of bush birding, taking up the opportunity to nail some cool endemic specialties.

Our first stop was at Lake Rotokauri, a suburban lake which, bizarrely, is home to a few Australasian Bittern as well as some other neat species. We didn't hear the bittern's foghorn call this time but did catch the 'pip, pip' of a Spotless Crake in the raupo.

We motored on to the star attraction - Maungatautari and its 47 kilometre long pest-proof fence, providing a huge space for endangered birds to thrive. Bracing myself for the exorbitant (but utterly justified) entry fee, we were met with our first surprise of the day when we discovered that locals (which we were, apparently) went free today! Arriving bang on opening time, we had the cool of the day to start racking up species that seemed like old friends to me - Kaka screamed past before we had even got in the gate, while North Island Robins were practically at our feet and Whitehead buzzed in the canopy. Starting on the 2 kilometre Rimu track, we kept our necks craned for a glimpse of a Saddleback, but to no avail. As if to mock us, they called constantly but we seemed to be denied even the tiniest flutter. Until... a family group of two parents and a juvenile flew right past us at eye level, and we had the privilege of watching them forage in the understorey for around five minutes! I managed some incredibly blurry images before they moved off, leaving us with only memories. All up, we saw 27 species on the maunga, which I didn't think was too bad considering we weren't early enough for birds like the Kokako. Big misses were the NZ Falcon and Yellow-crowned Parakeet - reasonably infrequent, and definitely a target for next time!

After a lunch break in Te Awamutu, we drove to our final stop in the great south Waikato loop. Lake Rotopiko is a newly formed wetland sanctuary near Ohaupo, where we were hoping to pick up falcons. No falcons were playing our game, however, and so we ended up seeing pigeons and sparrows instead - at this stage, we were regarding these birds as flying falcon food...

All in all it was a superb day out, and I already look forward to the next day off.
Happy birding!

A juvenile Welcome Swallow that was unusually confiding

Believe it or not, my least blurry Tieke/Saddleback photo

A North Island Robin checking us out

The rare and beautiful Hihi/Stitchbird - pretend it is in focus!

Garrulous kaka only a few metres from us

I'm back!

Excuse the brief cessation of posts. It's only been 13 months of inactivity! But that is ok, I finished my last exam this morning and have been struck by a surge of inspiration to actually get the old blog going again. It's going to be a packed holidays before I head off to the big smoke to study Biomedical Science in Auckland, and I might as well try and store as much of it as possible in blog form. I got my full licence last week (finally!) and so it is time to catch up with some birds I haven't seen for a while... Kokako, Saddleback, Stitchbird are all on the list, and a trip to Rarotonga with my family should yield some specialties too... watch this space!

Plenty of birds in the Bay

After the longest time at the wheel I’ve ever had, my family and I crawled out of our smelly, cramped Ford Fiesta into the glaring Bay of Plenty sunshine. After an early lunch of famous Maketu Pies, we headed to the mouth of Maketu estuary, where I watched stunning White-fronted Terns speed past masses of Red-billed and Kelp Gulls. The piping of Variable Oystercatchers was carried along the wind as my excitement grew, as it had been far too long since I had associated with these beautiful birds. After walking a while with my family, I struck out on my own onto the sandbanks, festooned with binoculars and camera and scope. In the distance, partially obscured by the heat haze, newly arrived Bar-tailed Godwits rested on the sand. Meanwhile, some movement on the sand a few metres in front of me alerted me to several pairs of New Zealand Dotterel running in circles madly. They were absolutely beautiful in breeding plumage, with a lovely orange wash on their breast feathers. While I wasn’t fortunate enough to see any nests or young, no doubt these birds were breeding or would be soon. An irritable White-faced Heron croaked at me and took off, fish in its bill. As I wandered further out onto the wet sand, the shimmer over the sand receded, and I was able to pick out a flock of Royal Spoonbills, forty of them! Two were nearby, again in stunning breeding plumage with a crest of pure white feathers and a pale orange breast. I admired them further for a while, watching their bills move side to side as they sifted through the water. At this point, a group of five titchy Wrybill fearlessly approached me, coming to well within three metres. Watching them, and a fair distance from the main dotterel flock was an odd-looking bird. It seemed a shade smaller than the NZ Dotterel, with dark patches under the eyes and an entirely grey-and-white body. For a few minutes I attempted to get a few closer photos of this bird, thinking it to be perhaps a Greater Sand-Plover, but after running it past some experts they all concluded it to be an immature New Zealand Dotterel. Oh well, one day I’ll find something actually rare! As I turned back, I scanned the godwit flock with my binoculars. Dissatisfied with the view, I tried to open up my tripod, catching my fingers in the process. Eventually, I had the ungainly legs of my tripod in a satisfactory position and examined the hundred-or-so tired-looking birds. Nothing stood out as being particularly odd, though, so I left them alone and returned to the car with nothing to show except a sore finger, sandy feet and a few photos. 

The estuary mouth

The rocky shoreline to the east

A stunning New Zealand Dotterel

A White-faced Heron

Wrybill on the sand

The confusing second-year NZ Dotterel

A regal-looking Royal Spoonbill

All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable excursion, and I hope to return when all the birds are back from the Northern Hemisphere!

Invisible Knot

I awoke at the ungodly hour known to fellow birders, checking that I had my scope, tripod, notebook and some food. Glancing in my wardrobe, I elected not to take my warm puffer jacket, as it seemed like too much weight for a day that was supposed to be warm. I won't be making that mistake again.

Russ C and I took off from Ngaruawahia in the pre-dawn darkness, keeping our eyes peeled for something interesting. For me, who hadn't seen Cattle Egrets in New Zealand before, these were a biggie, as I knew that I didn't have long left to see them before they migrated to Australia. No egrets though, and no Black Kite at the spot on Oram Road, my latest instalment in a number of failed attempts to see this rare raptor. Our spirits undampened, we hurried north to Papakura where we met with a crowd of other birders. Our quest - to locate the rare Great Knot in a flock of common Red Knots. The knot had been seen at Kidd's Shellbanks, one of the best birding locations in New Zealand, and so we set forth to 'twitch' this bird.

As we crossed through the paddock en route to the shellbank, Paradise Shelducks mingled with Pied Stilts to our left, while South Island Pied Oystercatchers flew overhead. The grey skies and cold southerlies made me regret my lack of suitable clothing, but I shrugged it off and we pressed on. Upon arriving at the shore, we were greeted by a few New Zealand Dotterels and Banded Dotterels. As we made our way east, we saw Ruddy Turnstones, Wrybill, and of course, Red Knot. No Great Knot yet, and as we arrived at the end of the spit we hunkered down and waited for the tide to push the birds closer.

To my delight, a tiny Red-necked Stint ran around on the soft mud only a few metres away, pursued by a few Wrybills. A Whimbrel was spotted at the end of the spit, and a Black-tailed Godwit hung around with the main godwit flock. We began to head back, vigilant for a glimpse of the seemingly fabled Great Knot. As the tide reached its peak of around 4m, we had to wade through freezing mud, aided no doubt by the freezing wind, and my hands were shaking so much I couldn't hold my scope steady! Nevertheless, we soldiered on, and I was reduced to using my binoculars to try and catch a glimpse of a bird with a slightly longer bill than the others. At this point it was almost needless to say that we saw nothing of interest, and slunk back to our warm vehicles.

A hot pie and drink later, and I was almost warmed up. Russ and I wound back to Ngaruawahia, with some unsuccessful attempts to get close to the Tuakau Wastewater Treatment Plant (birders are weird) and a quick check of Lake Whangape - almost nothing there. All in all, I'm glad to have gone and very grateful to have been invited on this trip. I got to see some places that I have never seen before and also saw a few birds that I hadn't seen this year - Whimbrel, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit and, most embarrassingly, New Zealand Dotterel. While the knot remained elusive, birding remained an excellent way to enjoy a Sunday morning, racking up a great total of 44 species.