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Home , Australasian swamphen, Fiordland penguin, New Zealand grebe, New Zealand storm petrel, Paradise shelduck, Pipipi

HIGHLIGHTS NOVEMBER 25 –DECEMBER 12, 2017

Southern Brown (Dion Hobcroft) LEADER: DION HOBCROFT LIST COMPILED BY: DION HOBCROFT

VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM NEW ZEALAND HIGHLIGHTS NOVEMBER 25 –DECEMBER 12, 2017 By Dion Hobcroft

The poorly known Malherbe’s (aka Orange-fronted) Parakeet has the distinction of being one of New Zealand’s rarest forest . This year we were treated to superb views in the Marlborough Sounds. (Dion Hobcroft)

What a fantastic country is New Zealand. The friendly and stout-hearted folks of this South Pacific nation do so much so well. It is always a pleasure to visit. Teaming up with my good friend Mark Ayre, this is the way we saw the tour.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 Quickly amongst the birds, our group convened efficiently and had the scopes out on the of Mangere. Our first surprise of the tour was a pen Mute Swan, rare in New Zealand and starkly contrasting with the abundant Black Swans. This is a great spot to see a host of waterfowl close-up including Paradise , Australasian Shoveler, and Pacific Black . Black-billed are a delicate larid, a term not usually associated with gulls. Crossing the metropolis of Auckland, we dropped the trailer and headed to Tawharanui Regional Park, now a well-established predator-free reserve. Brown Teal were in good form, and we had a real stroke of luck finding a pair of Takahes feeding on the edge of a glade. This giant flightless is not only critically endangered but typically very secretive in breeding mode at this time of year. Maybe this pair had failed to breed successfully this year. Our first Whiteheads, garrulous and highly dynamic Tuis, and songful New Zealand Bellbirds were a great hit, while our first nesting New Zealand Dotterels approached us closely. A final stop at a remote beach delivered a trio of the New Zealand Fairy Terns, these three birds representing 8% of the entire population. This is an exceptionally rare just clinging to existence.

The New Zealand (aka Red-breasted) Dotterel is responding well to protection in the but in the South Island is on the brink of . (Dion Hobcroft)

A big high pressure system had moved over the north end of the North Island bringing balmy temperatures and light winds, perfect for us and a day at sea on the Hauraki Gulf with captain Piers on the Norma Jean . We were joined by friends Chris Gaskin and Karen Baird, marine ornithologists working on the conservation of and reducing plastic, bird by-catch of fisheries, and many issues

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 adversely affecting these beloved oceanic wanderers. The biomass of seabirds here is spectacular, and the ocean in places heaves with huge schools of trevally, schools of dolphins, and squadrons of plunge- diving Australasian Gannets. Few participants had seen such a rich pelagic zone. Great birds included a New Zealand Storm-Petrel, several Black Petrels, a cooperative Little Shearwater, a brief Mottled Petrel, and a wonderful Gray Noddy. We saw hundreds of Cook’s Petrels, White-faced Storm-Petrels, and Fairy Prions along with good numbers of Buller’s, Fluttering, and Flesh-footed shearwaters, Common Diving- petrels, and a single Northern Giant-Petrel.

The entire world population of the Black (aka Parkinson’s) Petrel nests on . Outside of the breeding season they migrate to the Pacific Coast of Central America. (Dion Hobcroft)

The balmy conditions followed us to , a juvenile dark morph Pacific Reef-Heron getting the day off to a solid start. Once on the island we slowly perambulated up a trail to be joined by wonderful , North Island Saddlebacks, some very tame Brown Quail, Red-fronted Parakeet and, as a grand finale, a pair of Kokako singing away over our heads, their symphonic song a true delight.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 With our major targets under our belts, we just enjoyed our sandwiches, hot beverages, and a bit of shopping. Later we re-sighted all of these species while a pair of Fernbirds snuck past.

A flightless South Island Takahe skulks in tall pasture on . (Dion Hobcroft)

Heading south, the tide timing at Miranda could not have been worse so we opted to revisit Mangere. Here a solitary wandered up to us and when not sleeping gave exquisite views of its twisted bill. A flushed the roosting shorebirds, several thousand Bar-tailed Godwits, and several hundred Red Knots, allowing a couple of us to get onto a Whimbrel briefly. Moving along to Whangamarino we had quick success making the breakthrough with the Australasian Bittern. It adopted a variety of poses from neck upright to cowering with wings outstretched: a great performance. With tide at Miranda still out and some loud thunderstorms brewing, it was not optimal for us, yet a good flock of , Pacific Golden , a couple of Ruddy Turnstones, and a great view of a Buff- banded made our visit worthwhile. We motored through to Rotorua, a “geothermal wonderland.”

Next morning we were greeted by pools of bubbling mud, clouds of sulphurous steam, and a lovely flock of ! Pureora Forest delivered the goods of outstanding repeat flight views of Long-tailed Koel, often a real challenge to see. A luminous emerald male Shining Bronze-Cuckoo responded to playback

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 New Zealand Highlights, 2017

A leucistic male with its more typically plumaged female was an unusual sighting in . (Dion Hobcroft) and perched next to us. Yellow-crowned Parakeets were more “squirrelly” but gave themselves up in snippets, while Kaka screeched and perched in the canopy. Taking the back roads, we came out at Lake Taupo near Tokaanu. In the beds of raupo here we lured in a fine Fernbird for a much improved view than we had at Tiritiri. New Zealand was also scoped on the lake, at one stage a chick riding on the back of the male. Climbing up into Tongariro National Park we had fantastic luck with Blue finding three pairs in a row, one of which was a leucistic male —most unusual. As a grand finale to what had been a very good day, a flew right past us. We set up in the Chateau Tongariro, a splendid Victorian era hotel with fine wine and cuisine. After dinner Dion and Mark battled it out in the “Trans-Tasman Trophy” on the full-size snooker table. Dion re-claimed the trophy from Mark.

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New Zealand King Shags are found only in Marlborough Sounds. A heavy-bodied cormorant, they typically chase fish 40 meters below the ocean surface, unusually deep. (Dion Hobcroft)

After a relaxing start to the morning, we explored some pristine Beech forests that revealed a tame family of and our first . We finally cracked a New Zealand Pipit for a good look and briefly visited the end of the road at Mount Ruapehu that was inundated with marathon-runners, so we fled. The rest of the day was spent heading south to Paraparaumu with the best highlights good looks at both Double-banded and Black-fronted Dotterel. The balmy weather reminiscent more of Tahiti than New Zealand continued unabated.

Our crossing to Kapiti Island was uneventful. We explored along the tracks past the coastal lagoon with plenty of birds for company: , Whiteheads, Red-crowned Parakeets, New Zealand Pigeons, and North Island Robins. A day-roosting Morepork, a native owl, was located and glared balefully at the onlooking birders. A few Saddlebacks were sighted, and the Takahe pair was in great form. On dusk after enjoying Pinot Noir, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, brie and other cheeses, and delicious soup and fish, it was time for Operation . It proved to be the usual challenge, but one pair were especially obliging after a lengthy search. For those who missed we reconvened at 3 am and had quick success with great views. Several Little were studied at close range. Sadly, our time on the island was over, and after re-visiting the Morepork, it was time to move along.

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A pair of Northern Giant-Petrels fight aggressively for fish scraps off Kaikoura. (Dion Hobcroft)

Returning to the North Island from Kapiti, a delayed ferry crossing to the South Island was a bit frustrating. We enjoyed the excellent Te Papa Museum. The crossing was blustery and produced some decent seabirds including a couple of “Gray-faced” Great-winged Petrels, a surprise Cook’s Petrel, a White-faced Storm-Petrel, a White-capped Albatross, plenty of Fairy Prions, Fluttering Shearwaters, a few Little Penguins, and a couple of Parasitic Jaegers.

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A South Island inspects Rata flowers on Ulva Island, pink wattles dangling. (Dion Hobcroft)

We had a fabulous morning on the Marlborough Sounds in sheltered waters. Our first big highlight was some very tame King Shags, a rare endemic cormorant found only in this location. We went ashore on Blumine Island and had almost instant success with the rare Malherbe’s (Orange-fronted) Parakeet. The population here seems to be going from strength to strength every year. The views were superb. A major bonus was a trio of Yellowheads, the “bush canary” of the South Island: yet another endangered

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 9 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 species. It was only the second time I had seen this species here, another encouraging sighting. We enjoyed some frolicking Dusky Dolphins and a late nesting feeding two chicks amongst a bunch of other birds. We made the lengthy drive to Kaikoura via the Lewis Pass, the north coastal road still closed due to earthquake damage from last year’s major shake. After dinner at the pub, it was off to bed, blue skies, warm temperatures, and no wind still.

A very lucky break: we found this foraging in the daytime on Ulva Island, an island sanctuary off Stewart Island. (Dion Hobcroft)

The pelagic off Kaikoura was the warmest ever for myself —I was in a t-shirt and sandals! Almost no wind becalmed the albatrosses. The few we found though were hungry and very obliging, and consisted of two “Antipodean” Wandering Albatrosses and several Salvin’s and White-capped albatrosses. There were plenty of Northern Giant-Petrels in squabbling mode, vocalizing, fighting, and adopting a lot of exaggerated postures: most entertaining. Delicate Cape Petrels of both Snares and Antarctic populations were present, very tame and very dapper. We had great looks at both Westland Petrels and a couple of White-chinned Petrels, and some small flocks of Hutton’s Shearwaters rounded out the seabirds. We

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 10 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 had a surprise Pacific Reef-Heron. The most exciting sighting was of a mystery whale that gave two brief sightings. The distinctive falcate dorsal fin and bowed jaw line indicated it may well have been the rarely seen Pygmy Right Whale. Departing Kaikoura, our bus had a problem, and our schedule was thrown into disarray. Despite multiple attempts we could not rectify the oxygen intake sensor to the catalytic converter. This meant the bus would not get enough power. We arranged for a new bus to be delivered and made it as far as Rangiora.

A new day and a new bus, we were behind schedule on both kilometers and endemic birds! Fortunately we had almost instant success with the rare , our faithful pair of adults giving great views. They were joined by a single Wrybill and several handsome Double-banded Plovers. Great Crested showed well at both Lake Tekapo and Wanaka. We must have seen forty Swamp Harriers today. A bonus was a trio of Cape Barren Geese, an unusual large gray with a luminous yellow cere that has established a small population in New Zealand. The scenery was spectacular; the views of Aoraki (Mount Cook), the highest peak in New Zealand, were fantastic. We drove past the Remarkables, over several alpine passes, and beyond multiple glacial lakes. There were a lot of lupines and snow-capped peaks! Back on track both bird and itinerary wise, we spent the next two nights in Te Anau. Thanks to our great group for dealing with the schedule blowout so well. It made life for Mark and me much easier.

Our day in National Park is one of the important days of the tour. The run of balmy, even baking hot days came to an end. Rain and low clouds made this a more normal day. Luckily we decided to head straight to the Rock Wren site as this bird had been reported in steep decline this year, a number of pairs disappearing down the digestive tracts of various introduced carnivores — and . Miraculously we had almost instant success with this diminutive bobbing sprite, one of the most engaging of all New Zealand birds. Several were present; we watched some harvesting native fruits in this surreal alpine landscape. Having had quick success, we dropped back into the Beech forests and enjoyed multiple Rifleman, South Island Robins, a male , and our first . With the rain building and the waterfalls pumping, we took our boat trip on the famous Milford Sound. As soon as we left the dock we encountered a large pod of Dusky Dolphins, some of which did their characteristic barrel-rolls. Even better were seven Fiordland Penguins fishing in two separate parties, allowing close looks. The scenery was superb, and after a most successful day we were back to the hotel for more lamb roasts!

After recovering a pack left behind by a certain leader named Dion, we made it through to Invercargill and then Bluff. A stop at Tip Lagoon failed to produce the hoped for rare ducks (Northern Shoveler and Chestnut-breasted Shelduck) but, thanks to Sheila, did produce a stunning Marsh Sandpiper in breeding , quite scarce in New Zealand, especially in this plumage. Another highlight was a small pod of Hector’s Dolphins seen surfing in the waves of a remote Southland beach and our first Foveaux Shags at Cosy Nook. The local museum was well done, and then we were on the ferry, the crossing being somewhat blustery. The hardier souls enjoyed the seabirds off the back deck, with the rarest bird actually being a Black-browed Albatross, our only one of the tour. After checking in and dinner at the pub, we took the nighttime kiwi spotting tour. Before heading to Glory Cove though we scooted across to Bench Island where just on dusk we spotted at least four Yellow-eyed Penguins, a species in precipitous decline. Moving across to the cove, we trekked over to Ocean Beach where we enjoyed

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 11 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 perhaps the highlight of the trip, a fine male South Island Brown Kiwi feeding on the beach unconcernedly and at close range for a good ten minutes. Yes, yes, yes!

A Southern Brown Kiwi (photographed with a mobile phone using no flash) probes for amphipods attracted to beach-washed seaweed at night on the Ocean Beach, Stewart Island. (Neal Miller)

Ulva Island continued our great run where as soon as we landed a pair of South Island Saddlebacks came into a flowering Rata tree they shared with a tame Kaka. Further exploration produced good looks at , Tomtit, Pipipi and, for one party, a rare daytime encounter with a South Island Brown Kiwi. We jumped on board the Aurora skippered by Ian, and with knowledgeable bird man Matt we motored out to Wreck Reef. The albatrosses were hungry, and we soon had hundreds of White-capped Albatrosses and lesser numbers of both Salvin’s and enormous Southern Royal Albatrosses in touching distance of the trawl deck. Hungry Brown and Cape Petrels added to the throng, and we gradually attracted some other species, best of which was a pair of Gray-backed Storm-Petrels and a White-faced Storm-Petrel, quite rare off Stewart Island. With the wind picking up in strength we had to beat back into a lumpy swell, and after reaching the harbour at Oban we had a lovely group of Fiordland Penguins

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 12 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 loitering in front of their sea cave. It was great to see a couple of fledged juveniles. We made a team in the Trivia night at the South Seas Hotel and came in a respectable fourth out of thirty plus teams.

Amongst the smallest of all oceanic birds, the diminutive Gray-backed Storm-Petrel was one of our most special sightings on this excellent tour of New Zealand. This subantarctic specialty was found off Stewart Island and gave great views. (Dion Hobcroft)

We left Stewart Island the next morning. The return crossing was not as torrid as the first, and some folks were lucky to get on a Broad-billed Prion. We had one last pelagic trip, and this was off Dunedin on the famous Taiaroa Headland where large colonies of Otago Shag and good views of Northern Royal Albatross are virtually guaranteed. After enjoying this spectacle and a tame group of Hector’s Dolphins that gave superb views under our noses, we boated further offshore. A Yellow-eyed came

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 13 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 “porpoising” right past us at bullet-like speed in a spectacular display of marine effiency. We attracted a lot of hungry seabirds to the vessel including a Short-tailed Shearwater, Buller’s Shearwater, a few Cook’s Petrels, two White-chinned Petrels, and dozens of albatrosses of four species. Sadly our time was up. After a farewell dinner we flew out of Dunedin the next morning and onward home. It was a great trip with a great bunch of folks. Thank you so much!

BIRDS

Southern Brown Kiwi (Apteryx australis)

Little Spotted Kiwi (Apteryx owenii)

*Greylag Goose (Anser anser)

*Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae)

*Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

Paradise Shelduck (Tadorna variegata)

Blue Duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos)

*Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa)

Australasian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis)

Gray Teal (Anas gibberifrons)

Brown Teal (Anas chlorotis)

New Zealand Scaup (Aythya novaeseelandiae)

*Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)

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*California Quail (Callipepla californica)

*Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora)

*Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianinus colchicus)

*Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

New Zealand Grebe ( rufopectus)

Great Crested Grebe ( cristatus)

Yellow-eyed Penguin ( antipodes)

Little Penguin ( minor)

Fiordland Penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus)

Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris)

White-capped (Shy) Albatross (Thalassarche cauta)

Salvin’s Albatross (Thalassarche salvini)

Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea [epomophora] sanfordi)

Southern Royal Albatross (Diomedea [epomophora] epomophora)

Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Northern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes halli)

Cape Petrel (Daption capense)

Great-winged [Grey-faced] Petrel (Pterodroma macroptera gouldii)

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 15 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 Mottled Petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata)

Cook’s Petrel (Pterodroma cookii)

Fairy Prion (Pachyptila turtur)

Broad-billed Prion (Pachyptila vittata)

White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aecquinoctialis)

Parkinson’s (Black) Petrel (Procellaria parkinsoni)

Westland Petrel (Procellaria westlandica)

Flesh-footed Shearwater (Puffinus carneipes)

Buller’s Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri)

Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus)

Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris)

Hutton’s Shearwater (Puffinus huttoni)

Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus gavia)

Little Shearwater (Puffinus assimilis)

Common Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix)

Gray-backed Storm-Petrel (Garrodia nereis)

White-faced Storm-Petrel (Pelagodroma marina)

New Zealand Storm-Petrel ( maorianus)

Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator)

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)

Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 16 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus)

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)

Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius)

New Zealand King Shag (Phalacrocorax carunculatus)

Foveaux Shag (Phalacrocorax chalconotus)

Otago Shag (Phalacrocorax

Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus)

White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)

Pacific Reef-Heron (Egretta sacra)

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia)

Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans)

Weka (Gallirallus australis)

Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis)

Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus)

South Island Takahe (Porphyrio [mantelli] hochstetteri)

Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)

Pied Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus)

Black Stilt (Himantopus novaezelandiae)

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 17 New Zealand Highlights, 2017

South Island Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschii)

Variable Oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor)

Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)

Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)

Red-breasted (New Zealand) Dotterel ( obscurus)

Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus)

Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)

Wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis)

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

Red Knot (Calidris canutus)

Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)

Brown (Antarctic) (Stercorarius antarctica)

Arctic (Parasitic) Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus)

Black-billed (Chroicocephalus bulleri)

Red-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus scopulinus)

Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus)

Gray Noddy (Anous albivittata)

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 18 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis)

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

Black-fronted Tern (Chlidonias albostriatus)

White-fronted Tern (Sterna striata)

*Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

*Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)

*Barbary Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae)

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus)

Long-tailed Koel (Eudynamys taitensis)

Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae)

Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus)

New Zealand Falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae)

Kea (Nestor notabilis)

Kaka (Nestor meridionalis)

Red-fronted Parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae)

Yellow-fronted Parakeet (Cyanoramphus auriceps)

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 19 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 Orange-fronted Parakeet (Cyanoramphus malherbi)

*Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)

Rifleman (Acanthisitta chloris)

South Island (Rock) Wren (Xenicus gilviventris)

Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae)

New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura)

Gray Gerygone (Gerygone igata)

North Island Kokako (Calleas [cinereus] wilsoni)

North Island Saddleback (Philesturnus rufusater)

South Island Saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus)

Stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta)

*Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen)

Whitehead ( albicilla)

Yellowhead (Mohoua ochrocephala)

Pipipi () (Mohoua novaeseelandiae)

New Zealand Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa)

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Tomtit ( macrocephala)

North Island Robin (Petroica {australis} longipes)

South Island Robin (Petroica australis)

*Skylark (Alauda arvensis)

Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)

Fernbird (Megalurus punctatus)

Silver-eye (Zosterops lateralis)

*Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula)

*Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

*Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

*European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae)

*Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)

*Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 21 New Zealand Highlights, 2017 *European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)

*Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea)

*European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

*House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

MAMMALS

*Common Brush-tailed Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

New Zealand Furseal (Arctocephalus forsteri)

* (Mustela erminea)

Hector’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

Dusky Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus)

Pygmy Right Whale (Caperea marginata)

*European (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

*European Hare (Lepus europaeus)

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 22 New Zealand Highlights, 2017

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS

Common Gecko (Woodworthia maculata)

Common Skink (Oligosoma polychroma)

*Growling Bell Frog (Litoria raniformis) Heard only

*denotes introduced species to New Zealand

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 23 New Zealand Highlights, 2017