Tour report February day tour with Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ. Led by Sav Saville, Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ. Participants.

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Tour report 7 27 February 2017 21-day tour with Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Led by Sav Saville, Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Participants Nicholas Barden, Lise

1 Tour report 7 27 February day tour with Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Led by Sav Saville, Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Participants Nicholas Barden, Lise LaFlamme, Jeff Jendro, Myron Smith, Markku Vesterinen, John Oates Images John Oates

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 2 of 22 7 February 2017 Day One Meeting up at the hotel in Auckland went smoothly and the van was soon packed and we were on our way.

2 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 2 of 22 7 February 2017 Day One Meeting up at the hotel in Auckland went smoothly and the van was soon packed and we were on our way. First stop was at an Australasian Gannet colony, always a favourite for the sheer spectacle of it all, but with an added bonus this time since we were able to see the first ever mainland NZ Red-footed Booby, mostly sleeping Next on the list was Waiwera with NZ Dotterel and both Variable, and Pied Oystercatcher for company before the nearby water treatment ponds (NZ Grebe, NZ Scaup, Paradise Shelduck) and then to Waipu for Fairy Tern. This is a hard species to get, and a tremendously rare bird in real terms we saw 2 individuals, but long distance views. The supporting cast of several NZ Dotterel, Banded Dotterel and Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone and Red Knot was fine. Then up to Trounson. We had dinner in the iconic Kaihu Tavern with the brilliant Grant and Raewyn, and then out to look for North Island Brown Kiwi. A really good night tonight, with very good views of a female and then stunning close-up looks at a male. A delight was a kiwi duet, very close to the track. Back to the accommodation short of midnight and then great spotlight views of a Morepork to cap off a pretty decent day! Red-footed booby, this bird being the first for the New Zealand mainland found a few weeks before the tour started.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 3 of 22 8 February 2017 Day Two This morning started with a trip up to the great Kauri tree Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest).

3 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 3 of 22 8 February 2017 Day Two This morning started with a trip up to the great Kauri tree Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest). The parking lot held the best bird - great views of a male (North Island) Tomtit. From there it was away to Waipu for lunch and Fairy Tern again, where one bird gave us much more satisfactory views. A very rare bird in real terms only 5 young fledged this summer from a population of about 35 individuals. Possibly just a sub-species, but increasingly likely to become a discrete species in it s own right. We then motored down to Tawharanui where we were greeted by great looks at Banded Rail and several Brown Teal. Brown Teal seemed to be just about everywhere we went with at least 10 birds seen. Getting ahead of the game we spent some time with North Is Saddlebacks, North Is Robins and Whiteheads locking them in prior to Tiritiri. All good stuff, though no Takahe.. Spent the night in Warkworth. New Zealand pigeon roosting in a tree

4 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 4 of 22 9 February 2017 Day Three Hauraki Gulf pelagic on Norma Jean. Any day on the water of the Hauraki Gulf is special and this was memorable for a variety of reasons (!?). The weather was less than ideal, with a severe roll and chop to the water making it rather uncomfortable. The birds were there though: hundreds of Cook s Petrels, and Buller s and Fluttering Shearwaters. But some things were very strange almost no Flesh-footed Shearwaters, and almost no White-faced Storm-petrels but maybe 40 New Zealand Storm-petrels giving tremendous views, 8 individuals in one binocular view is something of a record for a bird that was only rediscovered less than 15 years ago. NZSP outnumbering WFSP by about 10:1 is the exact opposite of the norm! A regrettably brief view of a Black-winged Petrel was a real bonus, and the weather precluded a visit to deeper waters. New Zealand storm-petrel, an amazing day for sightings of this species.

5 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 5 of 22 Cooks Petrel whipping over the waves in the Hauraki Gulf. 10 February 2017 Day Four We started today with a quick visit to a nearby Park, and more Brown Teal, and a cooperative Spotless Crake was a good start to the day. One of the absolute highlights of a New Zealand tour is the wonderful island of Tiritiri Matangi. Just a 20 minute ferry ride away, and in sight of downtown Auckland, this is a place with multitudes of birds some of which are very rare indeed. The main target species all fell into place with reasonable ease Stitchbird and North Island Saddleback are both numerous, no less than 4 (including a well grown chick) Takahe prowling about near the lighthouse, a couple of Kokako on the lawn at the visitors centre and then a few others, lots of Bellbirds, Tuis, and Whiteheads, several pairs of Brown Quail and (surprisingly few) Redcrowned Parakeets. A Fernbird near the bunkhouse performed well, and after a magnificent BBQ dinner (!?) we set out to look for Tuatara and the real prize Little Spotted Kiwi. One Tuatara showed reasonably well, but the kiwis were not helpful. Only 3 calls were heard, and despite perfect conditions only one rather brief sighting of a male was made and then not by the whole group. Nobody was keen to keep going after about midnight, so off to bed

6 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 6 of 22 North Island saddleback peering through the bushes. Takahe feeding together.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 7 of 22 11 February 2017 Day Five The early risers had more Kokako, and 3 Takahe near the lighthouse as well as all the other normal species.

7 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 7 of February 2017 Day Five The early risers had more Kokako, and 3 Takahe near the lighthouse as well as all the other normal species. Leaving the island by water taxi, we reloaded the van and were off to Miranda. Smooth sailing through Auckland traffic was a bonus, and we were settled at Miranda in good time for the rising tide. The tide was fairly big, and the birds came nice and close, but some of the less common shorebirds were notably absent (no Red-necked Stint, Marsh, Curlew or Pectoral Sandpiper). The important birds did perform though about 1500 Wrybill, several thousand Bar-tailed Godwits and a surprise 3 Black-tailed Godwits. A Whimbrel, a Great Egret and 6 Sharp-tailed Sands were also present. A decent bunch of Royal Spoonbills and our first Black-billed Gulls were other notable sightings. Fish and Chip dinner and a comfy bed finished off the day! Large flock of bar-tailed godwit in flight near the high tide roost.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 8 of 22 12 February 2017 Day Six We started today at the Whangamarino Wetlands searching in vain for Australasian Bittern, and then set off

8 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 8 of February 2017 Day Six We started today at the Whangamarino Wetlands searching in vain for Australasian Bittern, and then set off cross-country to Whitianga for our second planned pelagic. A couple of Reef Egrets added to our list before setting off. And the pelagic was great. Weather conditions were more conducive to having a good time, and there were several convincing Pycroft s Petrels to be had, along with probably 20 Cook s and a load of undetermined Pterodromas. One (or maybe 2) New Zealand Stormies were seen at pretty much exactly the same location as our original 2003 sighting. Black Petrels were quite numerous, and the ratio of NZSP to WFSP was back to normal! Also numerous were Flesh-footed Shearwaters after their no-show in the Hauraki Gulf. A white-faced storm-petrel bounces across the waves.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 9 of 22 13 February 2017 Day Seven A nice early start and more cross-country driving to the Pureora Forest.

9 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 9 of February 2017 Day Seven A nice early start and more cross-country driving to the Pureora Forest. The weather was OK and mostly the birds showed up! Plenty of Yellow-crowned Parakeet and lots of Kakas were showing but only in flight, along with North Island Robins, Tomtits, Whiteheads, a Shining Cuckoo and eventually a Long-tailed Cuckoo. No Riflemen calling was a big surprise, but having a male NZ Falcon perched in view from the Forest Tower was a huge bonus. Having more or less cleaned up at Pureora we made tracks for Turangi in the hope of nailing Blue Duck today (thus giving us much more freedom tomorrow). We had no luck on the Tongariro River near Turangi, but played a hunch and went to another site where we found a pair and a fully grown juvenile, who put on a real show. Any day with Long-tailed Cuckoo, NZ Falcon and Blue Duck is a good one in my book! Blue ducks putting on a good show in the river.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 10 of 22 14 February 2017 Day Eight A pre-breakfast Bittern hunt provided Fernbird but little else of note.

10 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 10 of February 2017 Day Eight A pre-breakfast Bittern hunt provided Fernbird but little else of note. The rest of the morning was spent driving to, and walking around Boundary Stream Reserve, with mixed success. The forest was relatively quiet, with few Kakas (one giving good views), and North Island Robins calling. We struggled to find the normally abundant Rifleman, though eventually seeing about five. No sighting of NZ Falcon here, though an adult called quite close to us. Moving on towards Napier we stopped off for excellent looks at Black-fronted Dotterel, and a very obliging Australasian Bittern, before ticking off the vagrant Plumed Whistling Duck at a municipal park. Having somehow missed NZ Pipit up until now we drove to a nearby site where one bird showed exceptionally well. Dinner at Sav s house that night in Havelock North. A New Zealand pipit strutting its stuff.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 11 of 22 15 February 2017 Day Nine From Havelock across to Foxton and Foxton Beach for an early afternoon high tide.

11 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 11 of February 2017 Day Nine From Havelock across to Foxton and Foxton Beach for an early afternoon high tide. Four Rooks flying by the roadside near Dannevirke was a little unexpected. At Foxton Beach, the long-staying Little Tern performed and a flock of 31 Wrybill gave us great looks. Also present were a couple of Pacific Golden Plover. Small ponds around the town gave good views of several waterfowl including NZ Grebes, NZ Scaup, Pacific Black Duck and Australasian Shoveler. Wrybill giving awesome views as always in between naps. 16 February 2017 Day Ten Nothing very much to report in the morning as we made our way leisurely down to the Cook Strait Ferry in Wellington. More NZ Grebes and Black-fronted Dotterel at a sewage ponds, and a quick stop into the National Museum, Te Papa, filled our time, and then it was across the water to the South Island. The ferry crossing was on a flat calm sea and we had a hard time with pelagic birds. Just 5 White-capped Alberts were seen and they were all sitting on the water. Hardly anything else of note in the open water

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 12 of 22 except a pod of c10 Short-beaked Common Dolphins, then rather good (for the ferry) views of 2 King Shags and a Hector s Dolphin in

12 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 12 of 22 except a pod of c10 Short-beaked Common Dolphins, then rather good (for the ferry) views of 2 King Shags and a Hector s Dolphin in the Sounds. Also about 6 Arctic Skuas (Parasitic Jaegers). New Zealand dabchick giving great views as they sometimes can. 17 February 2017 Day Eleven We started the day with our boat trip on Queen Charlotte Sound. A few Common Dolphins right in by the wharf was unexpected, as was a pod of about 20 Bottle-nosed Dolphins steaming down the Sound. Only about a dozen King Shags showed rather fewer than expected, but they gave us excellent close views anyway. Blumine Island was a bit hard the normally reliable Orange-fronted Parakeets gave us a bit of a run around with only one bird showing to a couple of us. Wekas were around our feet, but not much else to write home about. Once back on dry land we grabbed some lunch and set off on the now arduous journey to Kaikoura, a result of the Earthquake in late Seven hours of driving with multiple stop/go road works was a trial. The only birding highlight was a large flock of maybe 150 Black-fronted Terns. And it was raining

13 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 13 of 22 King shags giving great views roosting on an island. 18 February 2017 Day Twelve We started with the peninsular tip where a moulting Erect-crested Penguin had been in residence for about 3 weeks. It really looked splendid and indeed disappeared out to sea that day or that night!! A quick stop at the top of the peninsular for a couple of Cirl Buntings before one of the undoubted highlights of the whole tour: Albatross Encounter with Gary Melville. The trip did not disappoint: 6 species of albatross, mostly within 10m of the boat, and including the biggest flying birds Southern Royal Albatross. Several Whitechinned and Westland Petrels showed up, Cape Petrels were in constant attendance along with aggressive Northern Giant Petrels, and a pod of Dusky Dolphins made the list as our fourth dolphin species. The afternoon saw some participants repeat the Albatross Encounter but with no new species. A trip out to Kowhai Bush brought a black phase NZ Fantail, but no Brown Creepers, and the last bird of the day was a Little Owl.

the New Zealand mainland, looking good in post-moult

14 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 14 of 22 An erect-crested penguin, a vagrant for the New Zealand mainland, looking good in post-moult plumage! A New Zealand albatross rides the swell off Kaikoura.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 15 of 22 19 February 2017 Day Thirteen A scenic drive down the coast and then across to Arthur s Pass, with stops at the Ashley Estuary for

15 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 15 of February 2017 Day Thirteen A scenic drive down the coast and then across to Arthur s Pass, with stops at the Ashley Estuary for water birds and the famous Sheffield Pie Shop for..pies!! One of the best birds of the entire trip was found by John at the Ashley a very obliging adult Black Stilt, which certainly took the pressure off us for the end of the tour! A few Kea were showing off in and around Arthur s Pass township. A walk in the forest brought nice Rifleman, South Island Robin, and (South Island) Tomtit. In the evening we went in search of Great Spotted Kiwi, with in truth not much hope of success. A beautiful evening with clear skies and no wind promised much and delivered.nothing, not even a call. Oh well. Surprise of the day, an adult black stilt. 20 February 2017 Day Fourteen Down from Arthur s Pass and along the coast, Southwards, to Franz Josef. A couple of more very obliging Keas at the Otira Valley lookout, a Great Egret near Hokitika, and a scattering of Wekas and Tomtits kept us entertained on the way down to, and along, the coast. We stopped off in Okarito where Brown Creeper

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 16 of 22 eventually gave itself up with a family (2 families?) party, along with SI Robin, more Tomtits and some of the commoner bush birds.

16 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 16 of 22 eventually gave itself up with a family (2 families?) party, along with SI Robin, more Tomtits and some of the commoner bush birds. Early dinner before another of the big NZ experiences: Okarito Kiwi with Ian Cooper. On the march into kiwi territory we stopped for close views of a Fernbird (the only one we had on South Island). The rarest of the 5 kiwi species with only about 350 individuals, Okarito Kiwis have a tiny, restricted range. With the help of Coops experience, and patience, and discipline we were treated to the sight of a female (known as Jolene) emerging from the undergrowth only a few feet ahead of us. Our excitement led to a little more movement than ideal, and she slunk back where she had come from but not before we had all seen the white blotchy markings around the head which are one of the main discriminators for the species. A cheeky kea looks back at us. 21 February 2017 Day Fifteen A quiet day, travelling South towards Wanaka. Not much of great interest save a couple of Great Crested Grebes at a lake and another, closer, at Wanaka itself. The Haast Pass has great forest which should hold a wide range of bush birds, but today we had to be content with a few Riflemen, Tomtits and precious little else (again no Brown Creepers and only heard Yellow-crowned Parakeet).

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 17 of 22 Franz Josef Glacier disappears into the cloud literally. 22 February 2017 Day Sixteen Rock Wren!

17 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 17 of 22 Franz Josef Glacier disappears into the cloud literally. 22 February 2017 Day Sixteen Rock Wren!! Driving through the Eglinton Valley toward Homer Tunnel is one of the scenic highlights of the tour and the weather played its part today as well. But at Homer Tunnel, the Rock Wrens did not.at least not to start with. John and Markku had brief views of a couple of birds, but it was all taking a long, long time for little reward when we happened to bump into the lady doing a Rock Wren survey..a quick discussion of tactics and terrain led to 4 hardy souls scrambling up some scree to eventually score crippling views of 3 Rock Wrens. Apart from the Rock Wrens (c 5 hours) and a mob of 6 car-hungry Keas we didn t get much else done, but pretty satisfying nonetheless.

18 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 18 of 22 Little stunner, a rock wren puts on a great show. 23 February 2017 Day Seventeen Down to the Stewart Island ferry at Bluff, and another flat calm crossing. I think that our bad experience on the Hauraki Gulf and whatever prayers and sacrifices were made after that have encouraged Poseidon/Neptune to give us (and particularly Nicholas!!) a break Few birds, but good looks at some White-capped Alberts, Sooty and Hutton s Shearwaters and a few of the newly split Foveaux (Stewart Island) Shags. After a quick lunch it was over the hill and a water taxi to the beautiful Ulva Island. Strolling around for the afternoon brought our 2 main target species, though the Yellowheads were less cooperative than ideal, the South Island Saddebacks made up for it as did very smart Kakas, and lots of Red-crowned Parakeets. John kept being in slightly the wrong place to connect with decent vies of Yellow-crowned Parakeet though several showed. A roosting Morepork was more of a dark blob than an owl, and a couple of Riflemen were welcome as were some more Brown Creepers which have been ridiculously scarce on this tour. The much-anticipated night-time kiwi walk with Real Journeys was not the best, with no kiwi seen! The first time this has happened on one of our tours, but due to extenuating circumstances.

19 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 19 of 22 A jackbird, or juvenile South Island saddleback giving great views. 24 February 2017 Day Eighteen Stewart pelagic with Ty Jenkinson on Aurora Australis a great boat for this sort of work. I had been a little cautious about too much optimism that we would see Fiordland Crested Penguin, but I should have known better right at the start of the day we found 3 pristine and one scruffy FCPs allowing close and prolonged views brilliant! A less showy Yellow-eyed Penguin on Bench Island, and later one briefly at sea, and a couple of Little Penguins gave us a set for the day. Add a Brown Skua or two being pretty much hand-fed by Matt, and it was a good start. Even by the time we had left the skuas we had a decent following of big birds ending up with something more than 150 White-capped, 5+ Salvin s, 5+ Southern Royal and at least 15 of the lovely Buller s Albatross around the boat. Smaller birds also showed in dribs and drabs, but with enough regularity to keep us interested and on our toes: a single Grey-backed Strom-petrel stayed with us for many minutes, as did a single White-faced Stormie, only one Cape Petrel, a couple of Fairy Prions, a single White-chinned Petrel and a handful of Cook s Petrels showed up, though we were slightly luckier with Mottled Petrel, having about a dozen, with some being relatively close in to the boat. The backdrop to all this though was 1000 s of Sooty Shearwaters, and the odd Hutton s.

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 20 of 22 Seven or eight New Zealand (Hooker s) Sea-lions were spotted on one of the beaches at The Neck.

20 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 20 of 22 Seven or eight New Zealand (Hooker s) Sea-lions were spotted on one of the beaches at The Neck. Another chance for Southern Brown Kiwi tonight and those that took the chance were duly rewarded with a very close encounter indeed. Three birds eventually seen in total. A gaggle of white-capped albatross at the back of the boat. 25 February 2017 Day Nineteen Heading towards the last lap, a longish drive up the country to Oamaru, via Dunedin. There are not all that many bird species left to find, but we did have to make the detour to Taiaroa Head for Northern Royal Albatross having missed it previously. The wind was perfect and there were alberts soaring over the colony almost constantly as soon as we arrived. Then it was off to look for Yellow-eyed Penguins lovely close looks after brief or distant views from the sea off Stewart, and Otago Shag (the other half of the Stewart Island Shag split) with many hundreds near Oamaru allowing close scrutiny.

21 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 21 of 22 A yellow-eyed penguin looking ready for moult. 26 February 2017 Day Twenty We headed pretty much direct for a site where a nice group of Black Stilt should be awaiting us and they were but really distant. Even in the scope they were little more than black dots, though 12 individuals were present, I was very glad that we had previously caught up with this species because the alternative was a long, wet, walk through icy water!? Nobody seemed terribly keen on that idea so we adopted plan B and set off for another location which I thought should have at least one bird. And it did a sub-adult with mostly black plumage and a white face, but it did allow tremendously close views. Other birds today were lots of Black-billed Gulls, a few Black-fronted Terns and a handful of Banded Dotterel. No Baillon s Crakes were apparent at a marshy area, but had more success with ridiculously close NZ Scaup at one of the local salmon farms, before repairing to the motel for a de-brief over a beer and some smoked salmon.

22 Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ Tour report, 7 27 Feb 2017 Page 22 of 22 Mount Cook doesn t always show itself this well! 27 February 2017 Day Twenty-One The last day and really just a transfer to Christchurch day. We did make another failed attempt at Baillon s Crake, a slight detour to visit the Mt John observatory for good views of a covey of 4 Chukar, and to another lake where we had another, seemingly full adult, Black Stilt. (Though again comparatively distant). And that was that. Thank you all for taking part, thanks also for your good company and good humour through the three weeks. I can only hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did! Total Trip List 156 bird species, including 8 species of albatross, 4 kiwis, 4 penguins. Also 4 species of dolphin, NZ Sea-lion and NZ Fur Seal.

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