Page 24 - The Villager July 2021

Birding

a Birding trip

to new Zealand Part 1

By RON SEARLE, PHOTOGRAPHS By ADAM RILEy OF ROCKJUMPER BIRD TOURS AND RON SEARLE
Otago Peninsula (RS)

New Zealand, ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’.

eparated from the rest of the bird) bird-watching opportunities in hotel revealed a surprising number of
world tens of millions of years the world. old but very expensive, by South African
Sago, the flora and avi-fauna A while back, my wife Maureen and standards, wooden homes.
of NZ have evolved in total isolation, I, accompanied by my son, Des and Early the following morning, we
giving rise to a number of endemic his wife Kirsty, undertook a birding arrived at the Ford dealership to take
families of birds, from the now extinct trip there. This narrative of our trip has delivery of our campervan, our home-
Moas to the flightless Kiwis, NZ been updated with current statistics, to-be for the following 24 days. After
Wattlebirds and NZ Wrens. NZ also has although I would recommend that a lengthy ‘crash course’ on how to
much to offer by way of spectacular anyone planning a trip to NZ and using operate the innumerable features of
scenery – the volcanic wonders of this as a guide, should research the the vehicle, we finally headed south
the North Island, the fiords, glaciers, current locations of the bird species to Dunedin. A short stop at ‘The Shed’
mountains and towering beech forests before setting out. for provisions and a couple of splendid
of the South Island – NZ has it all! A six-hour delay unfortunately fleeces for the inevitable cold (even
With its excellent infrastructure and resulted in an unplanned overnight stay though it was technically summer),
mosaic of National Parks and protected in Sydney, having missed our connecting saw us arriving late afternoon at
areas, NZ is a favourite destination flight to Christchurch in NZ. A midday Dunedin. We immediately set off
for birdwatchers and those with an departure and 3-hour flight including for the Department of Conservation
appreciation of the splendours of the awe-inspiring views of bare, snow-clad (DOC) offices for information regarding
great outdoors. The islands are home to mountains of NZ’s South Island in the the whereabouts of the rare Mohua
over 50 endemic bird species, many of east and beautiful green geometric (yellowhead) and then went on to
which are hovering right on the brink pastures well populated with sheep explore the Otago Peninsula in the
of extinction by virtue of a combination and cattle immediately below, meant twilight. A quick visit to Taiaroa Heads
of habitat destruction and the that we had lost a full day of our NZ trip, produced a few nesting Southern Royal
introduction of carnivorous predators upon our arrival in the late afternoon Albatrosses and colony of Spotted
(mustelids, rats and feral cats). NZ also in Christchurch. A short evening walk Shags. Then an evening buggy trip
boasts some of the finest pelagic (sea within the environs of our overnight to a yellow-eyed Penguin colony also

22 • Issue 7 2021 • The Villager