TRIP REPORT: NEW ZEALAND CUSTOM TOUR DATES: 31 DECEMBER 2010 – 13 JANUARY 2011 GUIDE AND PHOTOGRAPHS: NICK LESEBERG My first trip for the year was to New Zealand, land of the hobbits, and it is one I can’t wait to repeat; for a combination of great birding and incredible scenery, New Zealand is one of the ultimate destinations. This particular trip was designed to be easy going, and focussed particularly on the endemic birds of this island nation. With only two weeks it was difficult to fit everything in around these requirements, but we still managed a fine effort, cleaning up on the endemics that we targeted, and enjoying a relaxed pace for the whole two weeks. We explored both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, also spending a couple of days on Stewart Island off the far southern tip. The trip highlights were many and varied, and didn’t just include birds. We enjoyed Fox Glacier, the impressive drives up to Arthur’s Pass and through the Eglinton Valley, and an amazing cruise around Milford Sound, where hundreds of waterfalls poured off the cliffs steepling above us. But, the birds still stole the show. A friendly Southern Brown Kiwi foraging on the beach was classic New Zealand, while other highlights included Yellow-eyed Penguins waddling down the beach for their day at sea, and the boisterous antics of the endemic New Zealand Kaka. One of the undoubted highlights of any trip to New Zealand is the seabirds, and nowhere else are pelagic seabirds as accessible as they are here. During two pelagic boat trips and a couple of ferry rides, we racked up an incredible 25 species of seabird, so if seabirding floats your boat (terrible pun intended), put New Zealand on your to do list! The enormous Wandering Albatross, and its 3.6 metre wingspan - that’s nearly 5 yards! www.tropicalbirding.com Page 1 of 47 Note – The common names used by Clements for many New Zealand birds differs quite markedly from the common names that are in wide usage within New Zealand, and particularly in the popular field guides. I have used the Clements names in this report, but at their first mention have included the more commonly used names in brackets to help avoid confusion. Clements is also conservative regarding the taxonomy of New Zealand birds when compared to some other authors, something to keep in mind when comparing lists from other trips. A good example is the New Zealand Robin which is sometimes split into three species. Although we saw all three Clements groups/subspecies, they are all recorded here as just New Zealand Robin. Day 1 – Friday, 31 December 2010 Our trip began in the far south of New Zealand’s South Island, in the harbour city of Dunedin. After meeting at the airport we decided to head down the coast towards The Catlins, one of the last large areas of forest in this part of New Zealand. We made our first stop at Nugget Point, a rocky headland which juts out into the Southern Ocean, and which provides a good opportunity to get a handle on some of the common seabirds we would see throughout the trip. As we approached the coast we saw our first Swamp Harriers; in New Zealand it seems that you are rarely out of sight of one of these majestic raptors. We picked up our first Red- billed and Kelp (Black-backed) Gulls (not the Black-backed Gulls U.S birders are familiar with) before arriving at the point and commencing the walk out. We soon had our first introduced passerines, a feature of New Zealand’s open areas, as we added Dunnock, Yellowhammer and Common Redpoll to the list. From the towering cliffs we looked down at a Royal Spoonbill colony, with about twenty birds nesting on a nearby rock stack. Birds passing by included our first Spotted Shags, an endemic cormorant which is common in most coastal areas, and on the rocks below there was a colony of New Zealand Fur-Seals. With breeding season in The view south along the Catlins coast full swing, we watched the antics of many tiny from Nugget Point. pups flopping around and play-fighting with www.tropicalbirding.com Page 2 of 47 each other. As we moved out towards the lighthouse on the end of the point some large seabirds circling behind a fishing boat drew our attention, and we were able to pick out our first distant White-capped Albatross. Not very satisfying views, but not to worry, we would see these guys within metres in a couple of days. Red-billed Gulls (above) are a common coastal bird, and from Nugget Point we were able to see a breeding colony, continually being harassed by predatory Kelp Gulls. From the end of the point we were able to observe a breeding colony of Red-billed Gulls, and another of White-fronted Terns. On a distant stack we could also see a group of another endemic, the Bronze (Stewart Island) Shag. Watching the activity here was interesting, with terns and gulls coming and going to their nests, while marauding Kelp Gulls circled overhead. A commotion in the middle of the Red-billed Gull colony revealed one of these Kelp Gulls flying off with a small chick in its bill, while the Red-billed Gulls chased in vain. After soaking up our fill of the beautiful views north and south along the coast, we decided to move on to the Catlins Forest Park. We stopped for lunch before birding the forest and coming to grips with our first woodland birds. Although the wind had picked up, at ground level things were still calm and the birds moving around. Our first sighting was a small foraging party of the endemic Pipipi (Brown Creeper), which remained quite high up in the canopy. Moving along we picked up some of the more common birds like Silvereye and also our first of the two endemic honeyeaters, New Zealand Bellbird. We then hit a small mixed flock, with the first bird to reveal itself a delightful little Tomtit. These small black-and-white www.tropicalbirding.com Page 3 of 47 robins are quite common throughout New Zealand, and are very photogenic. They are extremely responsive to pishing, coming in closely to investigate, and although their preferred habitat is often quite dark, with persistence we managed some good photos. A continuous high-pitched contact call drew our attention to the next target bird, the tiny little Rifleman. These diminutive birds behave like nuthatches as they forage up and down tree trunks and along branches. They are often high up, and being so small (only a few inches long) they are very difficult to find. It took us quite some searching before we found a couple of these birds foraging low down, and managed to get prolonged views of this fantastic little bird. After watching the Rifleman (is the plural Riflemen?) we started our return to the car, picking up one more new bird on the way. The impressive New Zealand Pigeon is quite common in the forested areas of New Zealand, and we startled a very friendly pair off the side of the track which didn’t move far and gave us great looks. On that note we decided to call it a day and head back to Dunedin, our base for the The always inquisitive Tomtit can be seen in most night. It was to be an early start in the forested areas throughout New Zealand. morning, so we were happy to have an early finish. Day 2 – Saturday, 1 January 2011 A new day, a new year, and what better way to kick things off than with a new bird? We were up early this morning to get out to Aramoana where we were hoping to catch some Yellow-eyed Penguins on their way out fishing for the day. Although among the rarest penguins in the world, there are several accessible colonies scattered along the south-east coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The birds return to shore every night to roost in thick vegetation behind the beach, where they also breed, so an early morning or late evening trip to see these birds at one of these beaches will generally be successful. As we arrived at the beach it was clearly going to be a beautiful day, but unfortunately the bright sunshine www.tropicalbirding.com Page 4 of 47 meant the penguins were up early as well. We got to the beach just in time to see four Yellow-eyed Penguins disappear into the surf and join a group of about seven birds loafing just beyond the breakers. We sat down to wait for any stragglers, which gave us an opportunity to see what else was around. There was a pair of endemic Variable Oystercatchers feeding along the beach, with two well grown chicks in tow, while Kelp Gulls and Red-billed Gulls were floating around. We watched in amusement as another oystercatcher flew past the beach, only for the resident pair to immediately commence a threat display accompanied by much calling. The visitor knew he wasn’t welcome and aborted his landing to press on for friendlier territory. Shortly after we saw a head poke out from the vegetation at the back of the beach, and as we kept still, another Yellow-eyed Penguin started to wander down towards the surf. This one wasn’t so sure, and after turning around a few metres into his dash, decided to press on.