New Zealand Birds

All of our bird pictures seem to come from the South Island. On the train ride through the North Island, Ann saw about five Kokakos but could never get a picture of them. We also saw a few pheasants up north. (Apparently pheasants like foraging adjacent to train tracks, as we last saw them while taking a train from Brussels to Paris. Those pheasants get around. They are also the State Bird of that exotic locale known as South Dakota.)

We first saw one of our favorite birds, the Pukeko, while on a walk in Auckland. Our friends Alan and Dawn and their dogs were taking us on an evening stroll. Pukekos are found in most pastures all across the country. This we first found out when one of our canine companions went off trail and into a pasture where Pukekos were nesting. This required some quick dog retrieval, as Pukekos nest on the ground, and in the evolutionary tradition of many NZ birds they are relatively flightless.

The fellow below greeted us quite long and loudly as we made our first walk through the Queenstown Gardens. It was early evening, and quite cold, but the warmth of his call and antics just a few feet away held us in place.

Eurasian Blackbird, Queenstown Gardens

Parrot, poster in the Kiwi Bird Center

The "nationally vulnerable" Australasian Crested Grebe on Queenstown Lake Cruise

One bird we did not stop for was the Muttonbird. They may be hunted only by the Maori, as a traditional food source. There is apparently some degree of commercial marketing though, as they were available on special at a small fish and chips stand by the lake.

The Kea, joining us on our bus to Milford Sound

Our bus driver said she was going to stay with the bus while we explored the sights because she said the Kea will chew the rubber off the windshield wipers and anything else they can get their beaks on. Kea are the world's only alpine parrot. They're omnivores and are known to be quite aggressive when seeking out food, much like bears are in Yellowstone. They pranced around all the tour buses, putting on quite the show for the photographers. They seem very intelligent.

Fiordland Crested Penguin, Milford Sound

New Zealand Moa, downtown Queenstown

Extinct Moa with the plentiful Chaffinch

Yellowhammer, not to be confused with the famous Mohua (2013 NZ Bird of the Year)

Black-billed Gull who ate in one gulp our dropped french fry in Te Anau

Tui, performing for us in Te Anau

The Tui's call is fascinating. We took a couple videos of blurry tree branches and captured a bit of their call, but here is a link to a professionally recorded one that is much better.

We are now back at the home nest, and the familiar morning warble of our magpies.