Ok, Ok, here are the little Blue Penguins

I got a couple of notes, letting know that while the Yellow-eyed Penguins truly are cool, the little Blue Penguins were indeed my first and I deserve to give them their due. The site that we got to visit was indeed a great facility, and had well trained staff there to help out. The fees collected ($35.00 Per Person) helped fund not only that area, but the adjacent Royal Albatross Center as well. The Blue Penguin is actually quite common thru out New Zealand, it is just that there is a timing issue when you are trying to cover as much ground as we are, and trying to get as many species as possible, so this center helped me get the tick I needed, and I helped pay for their work. A great trade of, as far as I was concerned. The photography was quite difficult, as there is no flashes allowed, as well as no auto focus....so finding those little buggers in the lens, in the dark, despite the low light LED lights that were added, getting them in focus, and having enough shutter speed in the dark was a challenge. Here is one that came out...well, OK.

Yellow-eyed Penguins

For those of you that might now have been following along on my stories at 10000 Birds, then here is a quick update on my hopes to find my first penguins. My first actual wild penguins were the little Blue Penguins, that we got to see come ashore at the small Penguin viewing site, near Portobello, on the South Island. Now don't get me wrong, it was wild penguins, and they were my first, but there was a bleacher like setting with 50 people, all waiting for these diminutive little bird to come home to roost. I got way more out of finding the Yellow-eyed Penguins in the wild, without paying a very large fee, and it was just me and a few sincere birders. I don't remember your names, but thank you so very much to the couple for my home state of Oregon, for giving me the heads up, on where they would be coming up the hill. And so, I give you my very first wild penguins, the endemic, and somewhat rare (approximately 500 birds)   Yellow-eyed Penguins!

This one was just laying down to sleep off a hard day out at sea chasing fish!

Paradise Shelduck - Cosmetic Reversel in New Zealand

As we all know, in the bird world it is usually the male bird that gets all the color. The gaudy feathers, the bright colors, all the bling usually ends up on the male bird. I am sure there are great reasons, you know, looking hot in order to attract a mate, the drab female can sit on a nest, with less chance of being spotted by a predator, there are many good reasons. All that is thrown out the window when it comes to New Zealand's Paradise Shelduck. Actually resembling a goose, more than a duck, the female is was blessed with bright orange and chestnut body colors, and brilliant white head. Now, don't get me wrong, the male is no slouch, but when you are scanning a field, that bright colored female stands out like a beacon. This is also a very wide spread bird, at least so far on the South Island, with what seems like a pair in every decent sized field, paddock are large pond. Take a look at the colors of both birds, and let me know what you think!

Here is a shot of three of the females out in a paddock

For comparison, here is the male

Here are a few more shots, including a flying shot, where you can see the bright white wing bars that are impossible to miss. This flight shot is on a juvenile female.

 

 

 



The Weka, a New Zealand Endemic

When I got to see my first Weka, we were on the bridge road, from the ferry, over the pass to Doubtful Sound. Our Captain Miles was driving, and by this time had figured out my interest in all things bird. I was in the back seat when he announced "There's a Weka" and nearly slammed on the brakes. Before the car was a chicken sized rail, picking away on a road killed opossum. Grabbing my camera, Miles said no hurry, it wont go anywhere. He was quite right, as it had no intention of giving up its dinner. They have a pretty open diet, eating insects, worms, fruit, seeds, all usually found by flicking leaves and forest ground cover with their bill. Dozens of Weka's later, they still really are almost domesticated, letting you walk right up to them, even in the most remote of locations. In some cases, they will walk right up to you, especially if there has been steady stream people, that it can beg an easy treat from. Here are a couple of shots of the Weka!

This is the subspecies, Gallirallis australis greyi, or Western Weka.

I found this Weka, down on Stewart Island, making it a Stewart Island Weka, Galliralliu Australia scotti

 

 

These nest two were found in the northern half of the South Island, making them also Western Weka's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A childhood favorite

Ever since I can remember, I have been looking at, and reading about birds. One of those magical birds that I always hoped to see some day was the Masked Lapwing. There is no real logical reason, it just seemed like a really cool bird. So, you can imagine my excitement, when I go to see this very bird on my first day in New Zealand. No, quite honestly, the are EVERYWHERE!   Still cool, still fun to photograph, but the magical, mystical aura has worn off. I got a few shots in the last few days, so here are a few to look at.

Pied Shags, looking for love

While birding in the USA, I have been able to watch quite a few different birds got thru their sometimes elaborate mating routines. Yesterday, I got to watch the Pied Shags, work their way thru a very similar little game that is quite similar to our Great Blue Herons. I call it “The Stick Game”. In this game, the birds play a bird of keep away, with a twig or stick, and then sooner or later the game switches to a game of tug! In the shots below, you can see this adoring young couple with their stick…

Christchurch to Te Anu

We left Christchurch, on our way to Te Anu, and the home of another family friend, Peter and Bev. Peter had arranged a private, three day/two night trip upon a yacht to Doubtful Sound. This is a very remote area, and requires quite a bit of organizing to get all of your gear/food/wine etc to the boat. First you load everything onto the aluminum skiff, which makes the run across the lake to a small bay. This part, Jeanne and I got to ride on a nice warm ferry. The we unload the gear of the boat, and onto the truck to haul it up over the pass to West Arm, Doubtful Sound where the big boat is laying at moor. Launch the dinghy, to get to the boat, bring it to the end of the wharf, and load all the gear. Finally, we are off, and this place is beautiful! Reminds me very much of Desolation Sound, up in BC.

After a short tour, the Captain Miles, goes over the side in his dive gear and in a matter of minutes brings up 8 lobsters!  We are gonna eat good tonight,. But, wait it gets better, then we go fishing for Blue Cod, and catch 5 or 6 which are added to the nights meal. A couple bottle of wine, a salad and this is a meal fit for kings!

The next day we head around the end of the sound, and out towards to open ocean. Things out there are pretty bumpy, with 25 + winds and by the time we are out of the opening to the sound, in 4 to 5 meter waves. There are hundreds of ocean birds, especially Sooty Shearwaters, along with a couple of albatross.

In addition to the water based birds, I found Tui's, Silvereyes, Weka's, Bellbirds, and Paradise Sheldrake Ducks.

Here is the little Tomtit

 

 

This is the beautiful singing Bellbird

The smaller albatross's in this area are called Mollymawks. This is the White-capped Mollymawk

Ant this is the Buller's Mollymawk