A first time visitor to New Zealand, I had to attend a one-week conference in Auckland in June 2005. Having a few spare days on the preceding and following weekends, I decided to fit in some birding on the North Island. Luckily, a pelagic was scheduled out of Russell (Northland) for the preceding weekend, even though it is not a busy time of year for pelagics. Moreover, I managed to arrange a two-night stay on Tiritiri Island and rented a car for the remaining two days to chase endemic landbirds on the mainland. Apart from giving some of the wintering pelagic birds a go, my aim was to see all the non-pelagic North Island endemics, plus as many of the distinct subspecies endemic to North Island as possible. Below is a quick account of the sites visited, followed by the species list.
Pelagic out of Russell – 18-19 June 2005
Winter is not a good time for seeing the range-restricted seabirds breeding in the Hauraki Gulf, as most of them have moved into the North Pacific or elsewhere to feed. Some species still linger around, though, and there is a chance of picking up surprises. Therefore, I was particularly pleased to find out that Chris Gaskin and Karen Baird of Pterodroma Pelagics (kwtl@xtra.co.nz) were running an out-of-season 2-day pelagic trip from Russell (Northland) on the weekend of my arrival. The pelagic went from the Bay of Islands at Russell to the edge of New Zealand’s shelf north-east of the Poor Knights and back south into the Hauraki Gulf.
Though all the Kiwi participants of this trip assured me that seabird activity during the summer is better by magnitudes, I found it to be a fantastic experience with quite a few good species. Highlight of the trip was Gray Petrel, of which 3-4 individuals were sighted at mid- to close range. On one occasion, two of them were seen flying above a school of dolphins and pilot whales! Albatrosses were represented by two handfuls of Gibson’s Albatross and possibly a few more Campbell Albatrosses. Around the shelf edge, Gray-faced (=Great-winged) Petrel and Fairy Prion were numerous and at close range. The New Zealand race of Cape Petrel was represented with 3-4 individuals, and a Giant Petrel remained too far (and it was already too dark) for good views, though I believe the others eventually might have agreed on its species affinity. Fluttering Shearwaters abounded near shore, with a few Diving Petrels mixed in, while Little Shearwaters were occasionally spotted at sea, though always rather fleetingly – unfortunately.
A Buff-banded Rail was seen in a harbour near Warkworth en route to the boat.
Kerikeri – 22+27 June 2005
One of my great aims for this trip was seeing a kiwi. Some internet research soon pointed me to Detlef and Carol Davies (detlefdavies@yahoo.com) who live far north of Auckland in Kerikeri (ca. 4-6hr by car), where they have recently discovered a great little valley where Northern Brown Kiwis frequently venture out of the undergrowth to feed in the open meadows and pastures at night. Detlef and Carol were extremely friendly and fabulous hosts, and I could see in their eyes that they must have felt really sorry for me doing the long road trip up there the first time and missing the kiwis. Full moons are detrimental to the kiwi quest, because the birds tend to remain in the undergrowth during light nights, and my first visit coincided with just such a cloudless and serene full moon. Alas, they welcomed me again a few nights later and accompanied me out again, and that time we finally lodged a record count of four individuals, comprising one male seen running on a distant pasture and three other individuals (incl at least one female) shuffling on the ground at close range. What a bird!
Note that the position of the valley is very hard to describe, so anyone interested is best off contacting Detlef directly. A strong beam light is imperative for spotting the birds. Keep in mind that Detlef and Carol have been getting very busy lately taking people to the kiwis, and that they may opt to ask people for a little contribution in the future. This is just conjecture on my part, but it is worth remembering they don’t actually make a living off of kiwi tours and to show the appropriate appreciation.
Other notable birds seen during those two nights out include an extremely co-operative Morepork on a fence post in the beam light, and New Zealand Gerygone in their garden. On the way to Kerikeri, a stop-over at mangroves and a pond near Waiwera yielded New Zealand Scaup, New Zealand Dabchick, Paradise Shelduck, Australasian (=New Zealand) Shoveler (distinct ssp), Gray Teal, Sacred Kingfisher, New Zealand Pigeon and both Oystercatchers, among other birds.
Tiritiri Matangi Island – 23-25 June 2005
New Zealand’s main islands are sadly depleted of their native avifauna not so much because of habitat degradation than as a result of rats and other introduced predators that prey on birds’ eggs. This is nowhere as vividly illustrated as on Tiritiri Matangi Island, which served as a biologically dead pasture for livestock as little as 3-4 decades ago. After designation as a reserve, efforts were undertaken to eradicate alien predators and restore habitat. Thanks to a reintroduction program, Tiritiri today is a place where you can get acquainted with species that otherwise only survive on a few other remote predator-free offshore islands, though its habitat is still a far way from being pristine.
As opposed to most other offshore reserves in New Zealand, a visit to Tiritiri is relatively straightforward to organize, and the proximity to Auckland certainly makes it the easiest offshore reserve to get to. To arrange a visit, contact the head warden Barbara Walter (09 4760010) to book accommodation in the basic bunkhouse and ask her about ferry connections.
I stayed for two nights to maximize chances of seeing Little Spotted Kiwi, one of the avian gems introduced onto the island (and elsewhere only found on Kapiti, another island reserve). From contacting various people my impression was that two intense nights of searching should suffice for finding it. Its population has increased over the years since introduction and stood at about 70 individuals during my stay. However, vocal activity was very low, with only 4 calls heard during two entire nights out in the field, and the birds couldn’t have been too active during my stay. Needless to say, I failed to see any (though I did flush a Morepork). In retrospect, I guess there must be seasonal variations in activity, as other people didn’t seem to have problems to pick them up at other times of year. It was very cold, windy and rainy during my stay, and one night was spoilt by a bright near-full moon. Summer time visitors almost always seem to be hearing a lot more calls at night.
Fortunately, all the other birds on Tiritiri were more co-operative than the kiwis: North Island Kokako, whose island population is in the low dozens, is probably the hardest diurnal endemic to pick up. This species is a testament to the fact that predators – and not habitat availability – have driven extinction ahead in New Zealand, because on the mainland it is narrowly restricted to old-growth forest, whereas on Tiritiri it “thrives” in secondary bush. It can certainly be missed on a single day visit. I ended up seeing them on six occasions, mostly on Wattle Trail and along the main Ridge Track.
The second most difficult diurnal endemic is Fernbird, for which you have to hang out long enough in the right kind of micro-habitat: thick and low brushy pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia) undergrowth. Trying to imitate its call is said to help, though I cannot confirm that. I just saw a group of three once, but windy conditions after that weren’t helpful in finding them again.
All the other New Zealand endemics occurring on Tiritiri are common and more or less guaranteed: North Island Saddleback, which is extinct on the mainland; the common and obnoxious Tui and Bellbird (both of which are natural on the island); the lovely Whitehead; raucous Red-crowned Parakeets; New Zealand Pigeons; confiding Takahes; the usual pair of Brown Teal at the wharf pond; and the North Island Robin. The spectacular Stitchbird, another rare endemic that’s extinct in mainland settings, has a patchy distribution on the island, so any day visitor should make sure they cover the Kawerau Trail to avoid missing it.
Note that New Zealand Gerygone, which I only saw three times on Tiritiri, is not common on the island (though easy on the mainland). Tomtit was introduced but its continued presence on the island was questionable at the time of my stay. New Zealand Pipit apparently declined and recently vanished from the island as a result of reforestation. Rifleman and Kaka are amongst the most notable North Island endemics (ssp. level) that have not been introduced onto the island. The most remarkable non-endemic I saw was a Spotless Crake regularly hanging out at the wharf pond, an unidentified Giant Petrel in the bay, and tame coveys of Brown Quail all over the island.
Miranda Shorebird Centre – 26 June 2005
This is a must stop-over in reasonably close vicinity to Auckland for endemic waders. The park centre supplies good brochures and site maps. My time was extremely limited, and with the kind verbal input of the warden at the centre I was able to have satisfactory views of all the birds on my wish-list within an hour of arrival: A flock of ca 300 Wrybill was hanging out at the estuary at the western end of the reserve, with quite a few Red Knot mixed in. The accompanying flock of Silver Gulls also contained White-fronted Tern, Caspian Tern, a few desirable Black-billed Gulls, and even one of only two dozen Fairy Terns existing in New Zealand. A subsequent visit to the other side of the reserve, near the hide, added Bar-tailed Godwit, Pied Stilt, and the much-coveted New Zealand Dotterel to my trip-list.
Ruatiti Domain and Tongariro surroundings – 26 June 2005
Though 6hr by car south of Auckland, I decided to make the trip to Ruatiti Domain to a well-documented stake-out for Blue Duck, which is very unreliable on the South Island. The site is off of SH4, the main road leading south towards Wanganui, just a few kilometers south of the junction towards Ohakune and Waiouru. Coming from Auckland, take a right at the sign saying Ruatiti & Ruatiti Domain and follow the road for approximately 15-25km to Orautoha School, where you have to take a left across a narrow bridge. (The school is not too apparent, so you may have to ask around if you miss it). From the bridge, it is just about a kilometer up the hill to some bluffs where you have a great view over the Manganui-o-te-Ao River. This is the best look-out for Blue Duck. Other look-out points are apparently further along the road, but I never tried since I had great views of a pair here.
Remaining day-light was then invested in trying to look for New Zealand Pipit, which had eluded me at Miranda and during road-birding from the car on the way south. However, en route to Ruatiti, I had noticed wide and seemingly suitable meadows just a few kilometers east of the junction at National Park Town (Tongariro), and sure enough some moist wading through the frozen pastures here soon produced a pair of pipit, along with Paradise Shelduck, Skylark and other common stuff. Emboldened by an awesome backdrop of snow-covered volcanoes, I decided that the remnant rays of sun-light may – with luck – suffice for seeing Rifleman in the forest groves around the camper-van park at Whakapapa (one of a number of stake-outs in Tongariro, I was told), but the sun went down on me before I reached it.
Pureora Forest Reserve – 27 June 2005
A freezing night was spent in the rental car at the Canopy Tower at Pureora Forest Reserve. Frost and ice greeted me the next morning, and the day didn’t really want to get going until noon-time, which is when I had to leave. Activity on the dark and frigid forest floor was sub-zero, but a few hours on the tower provided me with what little bird activity there was at this bad, bad time of year. A couple of times, I caught most welcome glimpses of a pair of North Island Riflemen flitting about in the canopy, much higher than I had expected this taxonomic relict. New Zealand Pigeons, Bellbirds, Silvereyes and Gray Fantails were common. Whitehead accompanied other passerines on two occasions. North Island Kaka would only bless me with fleeting glimpses from the tower, though their screeching was widely audible. At other times of year they are said to be easy to detect from the tower in the morning. Luckily, on the way to the car-park, after I had given up on better views, one sat down just meters away. North Island Tomtit was occasionally sighted. Yellow-crowned Parakeet would prove hardest, but a lone individual was eventually seen during a car-stop on the way back to the park centre perched on an adjacent tree.
Species List
Abbreviations of site names:
P – Pelagic out of Russell (Northland) to edge of shelf north-east of The Poor Knights and back into Hauraki Gulf (2 days)
K – wood and pasture habitat on small peninsula north-east of Kerikeri (Northland) (2 nights)
T – Tiritiri Matangi Island (3 days, 2 nights)
M – Miranda Shorebird Centre (1 morning)
V – a number of sites surrounding Tongariro Volcanoes NP (1 afternoon)
C – Canopy Tower in Pureora Forest Reserve (1 morning)
W – mangrove area and lakes near Waiwera (Northland) (two brief stops)
1. North Island Brown Kiwi – Apteryx mantelli: 4 (incl min 1,1) K, also frequntly heard
2. Little Blue Penguin – Eudyptula minor iredalei: many T
3. New Zealand Dabchick – Podiceps rufopectus: 3-4 W
4. Gibson’s Albatross – Diomedea [exulans/antipodensis] gibsoni: P, ca 10 ind’s seen, all of which conformed to this taxon in plumage; full variety from juv to adult or near-adult ind’s, however none attaining snowy “exulans” stage; quite a few presumable female-plumagd birds with brownish-black wings and separate crown patch
5. Campbell Albatross – Thalassarche impavida: ca 10 P
6. Giant Petrel – Macronectes spec.: 1 P, 1 T
7. Cape Petrel – Daption capense australe: P ca 3
8. Great-winged (=Gray-faced) Petrel – Pterodroma macroptera gouldi: many P
9. Fairy Prion – Pachyptila turtur: common P
10. Gray Petrel – Procellaria cinerea: 3-4 P
11. Fluttering Shearwater – Puffinus gavia: many P
12. Little Shearwater – Puffinus [assimilis] haurakiensis: only a few, and never seen for very long, in far offshore waters during pelagic, P
13. Common Diving Petrel – Pelecanoides urinatrix urinatrix: a few P
14. Australasian Gannet – Sula serrator: P; T (ferry)
15. Pied Cormorant – Phalacrocorax varius varius: common, esp coastal
16. Little Black Cormorant – Phalacrocorax sulcirostris: occasional, various sites
17. Little Pied Cormorant – Phalacrocorax melanoleucos brevirostris: 1 ferry to T
18. White-faced Heron – Ardea novaehollandiae novaehollandiae: various sites, occasional
19. Great Egret – Egretta alba modesta: a few M
20. Black Swan – Cygnus atratus: a family at W
21. Paradise Shelduck – Tadorna variegata: common, many sites
22. Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos: common, incl hybrids with the following species
23. Pacific Black Duck – Anas superciliosa superciliosa: a few W
24. Gray Teal – Anas gracilis: a few W
25. Brown Teal – Anas chlorotis chlorotis: 1,1 T
26. Australasian Shoveler – Anas rhynchotis variegata: a few W
27. Blue Duck – Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos: 1,1 V
28. New Zealand Scaup – Aythya novaeseelandiae: a few W
29. Swamp Harrier – Circus approximans: very common
30. Brown Quail – Coturnix ypsilophorus (ssp. undetermined): common T
31. Buff-banded Rail – Rallus philippensis assimilis: 1 in harbour near Warkworth (Northland)
32. Spotless Crake – Porzana tabuensis plumbea: 1 T
33. Purple Swamphen – Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus: very common
34. Takahe – Notornis mantelli: many T
35. South Island Pied Oystercatcher – Haematopus finschi: W, M
36. Variable Oystercatcher – Haematopus unicolor: W, T
37. Masked Lapwing – Vanellus miles novaehollandiae: common
38. New Zealand Dotterel – Charadrius obscurus: 2 M
39. Wrybill – Anarhynchus frontalis: M ca 300
40. Bar-tailed Godwit – Limosa lapponica baueri: M ca 20
41. Red Knot – Calidris canutus rogersi: 50-100 M
42. Pied Stilt – Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus: common, esp M, W
43. Kelp Gull – Larus dominicanus dominicanus: common
44. Silver Gull – Larus novaehollandiae scopulinus: common
45. Black-billed Gull – Larus bulleri: ca 20 M
46. Caspian Tern – Sterna caspia: M, W
47. White-fronted Tern – Sterna striata: P, T, M
48. Fairy Tern – Sterna nereis: 1 imm.; identified from Little Tern on basis of color bands from Northland breeding colonies
49. New Zealand Pigeon – Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae: common, many sites and roadside; T, V, C, W
50. North Island Kaka – Nestor [meridionalis] septentrionalis: 2 C, more heard
51. Red-crowned Parakeet – Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae novaezelandiae: common T
52. Yellow-crowned Parakeet – Cyanoramphus auriceps auriceps: 1-3 C
53. Eastern Rosella – Platycercus eximius: W and roadside around it
54. Morepork – Ninox novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae: 1 seen well K, many heard here; brief flushing views of 1 at T and C
55. Sacred Kingfisher – Halcyon sancta vagans: common
56. North Island Rifleman – Acanthisitta chloris granti: min 1,1 at C
57. Skylark – Alauda arvensis arvensis: several sites, e.g. M, T
58. Welcome Swallow – Hirundo neoxena: common
59. Gray Fantail – Rhipidura fuliginosa placabilis: common
60. North Island Tomtit – Petroica [macrocephala] toitoi: min 2,2 C
61. North Island Robin – Petroica [australis] longipes: common T, C
62. Fernbird – Bowdleria punctata vealeae: 3 T
63. Whitehead – Mohoua albicilla: common T, 2-3 C
64. New Zealand Gerygone – Gerygone igata: K, T, C
65. Song Thrush – Turdus philomelos: along roadsides, also T
66. Blackbird – Turdus merula: common
67. New Zealand Pipit – Anthus novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae: 2 V
68. Stitchbird – Notiomystis cincta: common T
69. Bellbird – Anthornis melanura melanura: common T, C
70. Tui – Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae: common T, C
71. Silvereye – Zosterops lateralis lateralis: common
72. Greenfinch – Chloris chloris: M, T
73. Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis: T, M, variously seen from car
74. Redpoll – Carduelis flammea: 1 flock V
75. Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs: common
76. Yellowhammer – Emberiza citrinella: common
77. House Sparrow – Passer domesticus: common
78. European Starling – Sturnus vulgaris: common
79. Myna – Acridotheres tristis: common
80. Australian Magpie – Gymnorhina tibicen hypoleuca: common
81. North Island Saddleback – Philesturnus [carunculatus] rufusater: common T
82. North Island Kokako – Callaeas [cinerea] wilsoni: ca 6 seen on T
Heard Only:
1. Little Spotted Kiwi – Apteryx owenii: T, ca 4 occ.
