INTRODUCTION
Travel Blog Posts 2 to 10 covering nine weeks travels in the South Island March to May 2024 along with Posts 11 to 24 covering 14 weeks in January to April 2025 include selected photographs of bird life encountered during these trips.
This Post No. 30 looks back over the full set of bird photos from which the selected ones were taken and presents a comprehensive review of these by bird species. These species groups are as follows:
WATER BIRDS – Coastal
- Gulls
- Oyster Catchers
- Shags
- Dotterel
- Blue Penguins
- Albatross
WATER BIRDS – Coastal Freshwater Wetlands and Estuaries
- White Heron – Kotuku
- White-faced Heron
- Spoonbills
- Stilts
WATER BIRDS – Rivers and Lakes
- Ducks
- Geese
- Swans
- Grebe
- Kingfisher
GROUND BIRDS
- Weka
- Quail
- Plover
FOREST and MOUNTAIN BIRDS
- Robin
- Tomtit
- Fantail – Piwakawaka
- Wood Pigeon – Kereru
- Parrots
- Kea
GARDEN BIRDS
- Sparrow
- Blackbird
- Magpie
BIRDS of PREY
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WATER BIRDS – Coastal
Gulls
Marfells Beach, Clifford Bay (near Blenheim).
Kaiapoi River Mouth.
Early morning Red-Billed Gull, Port Motueka Beach Freedom Camping site.
Black-Backed Gull at Ohau Point, Kaikoura Coast.
Black-Backed Gull at New Brighton Pier, Christchurch.
Juvenile Black-Backed Gull at New Brighton Pier, Christchurch.
Red-Billed Gull feeding on Golden Bay near Farewell Spit.
Red-Billed Gull feeding on Golden Bay near Farewell Spit.
Oystercatchers
Variable Oystercatcher (black phase) at Stirling Point, Bluff.
Farewell Spit Oystercatchers at sunrise.
Pied Oystercatchers, Farewell Spit.
Sleeping Pied Oystercatchers, Golden Bay north of Collingwood.
Shags
Black Shag at Walter Peak Station wharf on Lake Wakatipu.
Black Shag, Picton Harbour.
Pied Shag (karuhiruhi) bankside roosting on Okarito River, Westland.
Black Shags, Kaiteriteri Estuary.
Dotterel
Dotterel at Waipu Cove. Their habitat is the coastline of the North Island from the Bay of Plenty north. There are only a few left in the South Island at Stewart Island.
Dotterel are a protected species, and though recently in decline are now considered recovering.
Blue Penguins
Little Blue Penguins (korora) at the International Antarctic Centre, Christchurch.
The Little Blue are the world’s smallest penguins.
Albatross
One of the three 2025 Northern Royal Albatross nests at Pukekura Headland on the Dunedin Peninsula.
Second of the three nests, with parent No. 2 arriving with food for the sitting bird.
Royal Albatross Centre live-cam recording of 2024 season’s parent and chick.
WATER BIRDS – Coastal Freshwater Wetlands and Estuaries
White Heron – Kotuku
Mananui Tramline and wetland walking trail South of Hokitika.
White Heron wading in the Okarito Estuarine Lagoon, Westland.
Searching for fish in the Okarito Lagoon.
Spotting a fish.
Striking the fish.
White Heron bankside roosting (on one leg) on Okarito River.
White Heron searching for fish at Lake Ianthe, Westland.
Spotting a fish at Lake Ianthe, Westland.
Catching the fish at Lake Ianthe, Westland.
White-faced Heron
White-faced Heron pair at the Motueka Estuary.
On the Motueka Sandspit.
Spoonbills
Kaiteriteri Estuary Spoonbills.
Kaiteriteri Estuary Spoonbill.
Spoonbill perching in tree above Okarito River, Westland.
Roosting tree on the Okarito River, Westland.
Stilts
Kaiteriteri Estuary Pied Stilts.
WATER BIRDS – Rivers and Lakes
Ducks
Grey Duck (Parera) at Motueka Sanctuary Ponds Reserve.
Mallard ducks at Blenheim River Front.
Grey ducks at Lake Rotoroa, Nelson Lakes.
Paradise Shelduck (male) at Hooker Glacier Lake, Mt Cook (Aorangi).
Paradise Shelduck (female) at Hooker Glacier Lake, Mt Cook (Aorangi).
The Paradise Shelduck pair overlooking a mini-iceberg at Hooker Glacier Lake, Mt Cook (Aorangi). These two ducks tamely walked around the feet of visitors having lunch at the Glacier overlook while looking for food scraps.
Call Ducks at Walter Peak Station wharf on Lake Wakatipu.
Call Ducks at Millbrook (Arrowtown) during NZ Golf Open, February 2025.
NZ diving duck (scaup/papango) at Mirror Lakes, Eglington Valley, Milford Heritage Highway.
Muscovy duck at Willowbank Wildlife Park, Christchurch.
Geese
Canadian Geese at the Glenorchy wetlands (Lake Wakatipu).
Canadian Geese at the Glenorchy wetlands (Lake Wakatipu).
Canadian Geese at the Styx Conservation Reserve, Christchurch.
Curly feathered Sebastopol Geese at Willowbank Wildlife Park, Christchurch.
Cape Barren Goose from Australia at Willowbank Wildlife Park, Christchurch.
Swans
Black Swan at Glenorchy wetlands (Lake Wakatipu).
Black Swan at Lake Rotoroa, Nelson Lakes.
Tasman Bay and some of the estimated 14,000 Black Swan residents.
Black Swan family on Argyle Pond at Argyle Power Station, Wairau Valley west of Blenheim.
Mute Swan at Willowbank Wildlife Park, Christchurch.
Grebe
Southern Crested Grebe (puteketeke/kamana) nesting on floating platform, Lake Hawea Dam.
Southern Crested Grebe nesting on floating platform, Lake Hawea Dam.
Kingfisher
The only South Island Kingfisher encounter was at Farewell Spit where the bird was perched some distance away and the photo was slightly out-of-focus. Hence I substitute my shot above taken at the Omokoroa Bird Observatory on the shore of the inner Tauranga Harbour at Cooney Reserve.
GROUND BIRDS
Weka
Roadside Weka in the Buller Gorge at Kilkenny Lookout, Hawks Crag overhang on SH 6.
Bush Weka on the Mananui Tramline and wetland walking trail South of Hokitika.
Lunchtime Weka at Punakaiki (looking for food scraps).
Quail
This stock picture of a male California quail is almost identical to one I took at Omakau (Central Otago) perched on a barbwire fence at St Peter Catholic Church outside the township. My photo was slightly out of focus, hence the substitution above.
My other California quail encounter was at the Motueka Sanctuary Ponds Reserve where I disturbed a group feeding in the grass, when all turned tail and ran from me into the undergrowth.
Plover
Spur-winged Plover at Waikaka Valley Presbyterian Church, Willowbank (near Gore).
Spur-winged Plover at Ward Beach Road, Flaxbourne River Valley, Marlborough.
FOREST and MOUNTAIN BIRDS
Robin
Charming Creek Walkway, Westland. These South Island NZ Robins are very friendly and will follow your walking trail looking for grubs in the leaf litter disturbed by footsteps.
Lake Gunn Nature Walk on the Milford Heritage Highway where this South Island male NZ Robin was sizing me up as a walking companion.
Here at Lake Gunn he was right into my footprints and grub hunting as I walked by.
Another friendly South Island male NZ Robin, West Bay, Lake Rotoiti
Tomtit
NZ South Island male tomtit (ngirungiru) on the Lake Monowai bush walk.
This friendly guy at Lake Monowai kept flitting from tree branch to tree branch while following my walk down the long track to the lake front.
Fantail – Piwakawaka
Fantail are extremely friendly, swooping backwards and forwards around as you walk, chasing any circling sand-flies. This one is at Kekerengu Beach north of Kaikoura.
Conns Creek, Denniston Incline Terminus north of Westport.
Okarito Bush Walk.
Clarence River Bridge Historic Site north of Kaikoura.
Ocean Beach Walk at Jackson Bay south of Haast.
Fantail at Labyrinth Rocks Park, Takaka, Golden Bay.
Fantail about to take flight at Labyrinth Rocks Park, Takaka, Golden Bay.
Parrots
Kakariki (red crowned parakeet), Orana Wildlife Park, Christchurch.
Scarlet Macaw at Willowbank Wildlife Park, Christchurch.
Kea
Kea (mountain parrot), Orana Wildlife Park, Christchurch.
Another view of the Kea at the Orana Wildlife Park, Christchurch, showing a touch of red under the right wing.
Kea in flight (from DoC Information Board, Milford Road).
Kea at Homer Tunnel, Hollyford entrance on Milford Road.
The Kea at the Homer Tunnel entrance were notorious for perching on cars and using their powerful beaks to pull rubber windscreen linings off vehicles. However, the parking area has now been closed off following the rebuild of the avalanche shelter so pedestrian visitors to the tunnel entrance have to park their vehicles some distance away. None-the-less the tunnel entrance is still a favourite gathering place for these cheeky birds.
Wood Pigeon – Kereu
Wood Pigeon (kereru) at Blue Pools Walkway, Eglington Valley.
Wood Pigeon at Cameron Creek Walkway, Eglington Valley
GARDEN BIRDS
Sparrow
House Sparrow, Kaiteriteri Beach
Black Bird
Blackbird on the beach at Moeraki Boulders near Oamaru.
Blackbird, Tasman Bay.
Magpie
Magpie at Waitakere Beach, Levin
BIRDS OF PREY (Sculptures)
Sculpture of the NZ Falcon (karearea) at the Clyde Dam overlook near Alexandra. Have only once seen a NZ Falcon, this being at the Poolburn Gorge during a past visit to the Central Otago Rail Trail.
Haast’s Eagle (pouakai/hokioi) sculpture at Macraes Wetland Heritage Walkway, Central Otago (sponsored by Oceana Gold). The sculpture was created by Arrowtown sculptor Mark Hill, son of the late Michael Hill, Jeweller.