Page 30 - Waterfall Issue 5 2021

Waterfall Birding

Sooty Shearwater, White-capped (Shy)
Albatross and Common Diving Petrels.

Bruce, our pre-arranged guide, was
waiting for us at the ferry wharf in
Halfmoon Bay for our transfer to our
two-room Thorfinn cottage – with Weka (AR)
breathtaking views overlooking the
bay – for the next three nights in
Oban. An afternoon walk along the
Fuchsia and Raroa tracks produced
two new parrots for us, the large Kaka
and a Red-fronted (crowned) Parakeet,
as well as the Tui and NZ Pigeon, all
common endemics (found only in NZ).

The next day, weather-wise wonderful, Brown Kiwi (POST CARD WITH NO REFERENCE) Maclean’s Falls (RS)
was spent on the island of ulva in the it creeps along the forest
Paterson Inlet, accessed by water- floor making sniffing and
taxi. The birding was outstanding, snuffling sounds. Clearly,
producing in rapid succession a its world is more olfactory
welcoming Weka (type Rail) on a and tactile than visual.
deserted beach, followed by a South It lives in self-excavated
Island Robin, an adult South Island burrows up to 1.5m long
Saddleback together with its rather and usually lays two
different offspring (Jackbird) and enormous eggs, each
finally a Yellow-fronted (crowned) equal to one-fifth of its
Parakeet. The highlight of the day bodyweight. Its long,
thus far however was the chance slightly decurved bill is
discovery of a small family of the used to probe the soil for .;,j
very rare Yellowhead, a species worms, snails, centipedes
Golden Bay (RS)
that had continually eluded us. and other invertebrates. It
is very unusual in that its nostrils are Two and a half hours later, upon the
The lush vegetation of ulva was located at the tip of the bill rather that stroke of midnight, our quarry, a single
fantastic, providing a thought- at its base, thereby enabling the bird to rather nonchalant Kiwi, was thankfully
provoking example of what Stewart smell for its food. Having laid its eggs, spotted on the trail, to the relief and
Island, indeed what the NZ mainland the female then puts her feet up, relying great excitement of our exhausted
must have been like prior to on the male to incubate them. Their group. What an extraordinary and
colonisation by the Europeans. At 8.30 offspring take three months or more privileged experience! Back in Oban
that evening we embarked from the to hatch. Shortly after this momentous on our walk home in the dark, a Kiwi
Oban harbour on a quest to find the occasion, the well-developed chicks was heard calling from the garden
unique, very rare and certainly bizarre move out of their burrow and are able to of one of the houses nearby.
icon, the Stewart Island Brown Kiwi, a fend for themselves almost immediately.
member of the bird family recognised Watching Tv early the following
as the National Bird of NZ. Classified as Our 45-minute sea-taxi journey across morning, we learnt of the explosion
endangered, very shy, seldom seen and the Paterson Inlet to the Glory Cove and burning of a bus in the Homer
nocturnal, this bird is like no other and peninsula was achieved without Tunnel, trapping 300 tourists in Milford
accordingly is near the top of the list of incident by 16 of us under the Sound on South Island. Fortunately,
100 Birds to See before You Die, a book supervision of the highly-experienced no one was injured in the tunnel,
written by D Chandler and D Couzens. Kiwi guide, Phillip. His completion of which was evacuated on foot. This
No other bird is quite as odd, in fact in 1 400 similar trips, of which a mere 26 certainly introduced a high degree
many respects unbirdlike. It is flightless, were unsuccessful (in locating a Kiwi), of apprehension amongst our family
has rudimentary wings covered in re-assured us of the almost certain group pending our planned visit
hair-like plumage and no tail. At night positive outcome of our expedition. there within the next day or two.

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28 Waterfall Issue 5 2021