Coming to NZ in December or January for several months (1 Viewer)

[jimmyjames]

If any other traveling or resident birders wish to hook up for birding trips around NZ then I would be pleases to join forces.

Am arrivng sometime between mid Dec and mid Jan and staying for at least 6 weeks (perhaps much longer). I've birded Australia (where I am currently) for 4 months and for the most part done so alone. It's sometimes good to meet up with other birders to share the enjoyment AND the costs of transport / tours.

If anyoen has any advice on any must visit locations in NZ then I'd be happy to hear about them. Am just beginning to research birding in NZ.

Regards

James

 

[albatross02]

Hello,

musts
Muriway Beach ( until January breet around 3.000 Gannets )
Tiritiri Matangi ( look also at my vacation report from today ) e.g. Takahe, Stitchbird and if You have good luke also Kokako
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=102590

Stewart island ( rare birds on both main islands are quite common on this island, the only day activ Kiwi live there )
Ulva island ( bird sanctuary for daily visitors )
Kaikoura ( maybe the best place in the world for seabirds )
Miranda wetlands are good for shorebirds ( end of november was the peak with 4.500 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3.500 Knot, but also rare birds like Wrybill, Hudsonian Godwit, Bandet Dotterel )

Best regards
Dieter

 

[Paul Godolphin]

Mate, we here!
My friends in NZ been emailing you and trying to contact in response to your posting on BirdingNewZealand website. Can help with transport, sites and travel. Be pleased to take you around cos you not far from them.
Not got reply. your latest 'dead shearwater' message was one we wrote about too. If you like to meet up and do some birding and get good sites info and help to see birds you need respond.
Haere Ra
Riwi

 

[jimmyjames]

Hello! how's it going? starnge, I have had no emails! apt from teh last one.

Am heading to Northlands on tuesday from Aukland where I am now. Birding has taken a back buner recently though I just visited Miranda.

Still haven't seen kiwi but did hear an Okarito. I didn't manage to see a Falcon eitehr which has surprised me. have managed just over 100 sp. in 2 months with one more month to go. have greatly enjoyed this country and didn't want to ruin this great experience by twitching around. Still... did do quite a bit of birding.

Did not see yellowhead on Ulva when all the other birders i met di! Infuriating. and that's when i decided not to try to see so much. Migt still try for Blue Duck and Black Stilt when I return south as these are special interest birds.


What a place! shame about the birds going into hiding!

 

[birdboybowley]

Hey
If you haven't seen one, try for NI Brown Kiwi in Trounsoun Forest NP. There's a raised walkway which is interseting in itself (wetas, glowworms), but I saw the kiwis on the open grass before the beginning of the trail. Tiritiri was a good place for Little Spotted.
Blue Duck I found along the Manganui-e-o-tao River and Black Stilt was easy at tghe Tasman Delta along the road to Mount Cook, and in the braided rivers behind Glentanner (along the same road). Saw 2 adults and about 15 newly-released young hear (beware, alot of people have mistaken them for hybrids as they're black n white too, but the radio transmitters are usually a giveaway....!)
Yellowhead was easier at Haast's Pass than on Ulva too.....
NZ, great place - if you need anymore info, pm me
Ads

 

[Paul Godolphin]

Couple of sites for you

Jim, I took these tips for you from a pommy mate who's just 'done' Aotearoa end-to-end. Maybe useful to you too?

Here’s a couple of easy places for ‘wanted’ species:
Grey Teal, Coot, Dabchick, Shoveler, Scaup: Whakamaru Dam
Royal Spoonbill: Tairoa Head, Otago Peninsula. (breed on cliffs below Albatrosses)
Stewart Island Shag: same. Big colony below Albatrosses
All seabirds: Kaikoura, of course!
Spotted Shag: Ohau Point, on roadside approaching Kaikoura. Easy.
S.Island Weka: Cape Foulwind. Many walking about car park. Snatch your sandwiches!
Kea: Arthur’s Pass summit car park and down in the village, near wheelie bins.
NZ Pipit: Banks Peninsula. The Ridge Road and all minor high altitude roads
Crested Grebe: Lake Forsyth, lots.
Black Stilt: Shingle bed of the Tasman River on the way up to Mount Cook from Twizel. Stop at the Glentanner Stream where it enters the river bed, just a little north of a windsock in a tiny airstrip on the right, when travelling north on SH80. Scan the pebbly, overgrown river bed. It’s a big area, but there will be many Black Stilt in there. Be prepared to stop the van and brew up while they scan with scopes and binos for an hour or so. They are there, and this is the best site in NZ, but you gotta ‘get your eye in’ for quite a while before you can pick them out amongst the stones and turf.
The breeding facility is just off SH.8 south of Twizel. Tours of the cages can be booked only at the ‘I site’ at the main road junction a couple of kilometres to the north. But it’s just a zoo, so you might want them in the wild!!
Rock Wren: Big car park on right at mouth of Homer tunnel. Birds up in boulders away to right. They bob up and down like Dippers. That’s what gives them away, along with a dash of yellow colour. Lots of Kea here too.
South Island Fernbird: Hannah’s Clearing enroute to Jackson Bay from Haast. Swampy area on the right just south of the village. (Also turn off here to see Okarito Brown Kiwi, night tours available in Okarito village, and White Herons on the Lagoon!)
Yellowhead: Haast Pass summit. At the very summit there’s a layby on both sides of the road. There’s a big sign on the left saying how far it is to a couple of towns ahead (a bloody long way!) Take the old cart/cattle track on the right. It’s well signed and very well surfaced. You could walk two days down it if you wanted, but just ten minutes into this amazing rain forest and you’re in prime Yellowhead habitat. Give it an hour and have a brew. It rains like hell up there. The birds pass by in the canopy in chirrupy little twittering gangs, just like the Whiteheads you’re used to in the north.
Penguins: Yellow-Eyed: Bushy Beach Oamaru. Best site in NZ.
Fiordland Crested: Jackson Bay, off the wharf if you’re lucky. Too late in the year really, and those bloody black flies will eat you alive. Try the Fish and Chips in the little red chippy at the end of the road, yummy!

good luck Rewi