The Tomtit or Miromiro is endemic to mainland New Zealand and near-by Islands. They inhabit native and exotic forests and are specially common in Beech Forests.

I spotted this one in a little picnic park pullout on a drive through Haast Pass from Wanaka. Picnic spots are often wonderful places to spot and photograph birds. This one wasn't very co-operative but I manage a few images like this when he popped out into a more open area.

New Zealand has a devastating record for bird extinctions since human settlement caused by hunting, habitat loss and most notable the introduction of animals such as rats, mice, Stoats weasels, hedgehogs (I saw a few dead ones) and the Australian Brushtail possum.

From the time of first human settlement until 1994, 43 (or 46%) of the 93 endemic land, freshwater and coastal bird species have become extinct. Astonishing. However, New Zealand has invested a lot of money and research into conservation efforts to protect the remaining birds species and rid the Islands of pests.

Tags:   New Zealand birds Petroica macrocephala Tomtit Male bird Male Tomtit Haast Pass South Island Wanaka Miromiro Nikon D500 Nikon 200-500

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This is one of New Zealand's famous Kea parrots. They are the only true Alpine parrot in the world. They are well known for there very bold personalities and attraction to humans and paraphernalia. This one had the eye-roller bailed up in the car at a car park near Homer Tunnel on the way to Milford Sound. She was too frightened to get out the door which earner her the interest of a group of tourists who thought it was hilarious.

The birds gained early notoriety among settler farmers for attacks on their sheep. There was a bounty on them, only removed in 1971. It is estimated that around 150,000 birds were shot between 1860 and 1970. They are now fully protected and often seen at car parks where they attack people's shoes and windscreen wipers.

I admit I was a tiny bit intimidated too!

thanks to Lance, I now know that this is an adult male called Jack!

keadatabase.nz/birds/jack

Tags:   Milford Sound Milford Sound Road New Zealand Te Anau Kea Bird Nestor notabilis Parrot Alpine Parrot Nikon D750 Nikon 24-120

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The Southern falcon is found in Fiordland, Stewart Island and the Auckland Islands of New Zealand. It is threatened and listed as vulnerable.

The falcons don’t build nests but rather makes a scrape on the ground, under a rocky outcrop or in an epiphyte in an emergent forest tree into which it lays its eggs. This appears to be one of the reasons it’s numbers have declined as their ground nesting habit makes the eggs and young vulnerable to predation by cats, stoats, rats and hedgehogs. Though more research is needed, it appears that the adults cant defend the nest as well as previously thought. They are also impacted by the usual loss of habitat and shooting by farmers.

I was very much hoping to see one of these and as luck would have it, there was one right by the car as we parked at Mount Cook. I was quite thankful that it took as ages to find a car spot and this was the only one we could find. I liked this image as the falcon is framed by the snowy mountains of Mount Cook.

Tags:   D500 New Zealand birds Southern Falcon raptor Bird of Prey Mount Cook snow Mountains Conservation threatened Bird kārearea Falco novaeseelandiae South Island

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The Paradise Shelduck is New Zealands only Shelduck. They have goose like feathers and the males make the characteristic "honk honk sound". The ducks pair for life. While their population is stable, there have been some declines from over-hunting.

We saw them quite frequently on our travels in New Zealand. Unlike many in the bird kingdom, it is the female that is more eye catching than the male. Above is a female with a couple of chicks at Mount Aspiring National Park.

Tags:   D500 New Zealand birds Shelduck Paradise Duck chicks Duckling mother pūtakitaki pūtangitangi Tadorna variegata

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What a week it’s been. For me another of my seemingly endless trips to ER, this time with excruciating Kidney stones. Then yesterday, as many of you have no doubt heard, our biggest land earthquake ever measuring 5.9. It was felt in several other States. It was quite frightening and left me shaking, long after the rumbles and movement of the earth around me stilled. We were fortunate in a number of ways in that the overall damage was minimal and, probably thanks to lockdown, no-one was injured.

Unlike the 2011 Earthquake in New Zeland which caused a devastating amount of damage to the city of Christchurch from which they are still recovering. When I visited in 2019, I was surprised at how much damage remained with so little money to rebuild. One animal that has made the most of is the abandoned buildings the Black-billed gull who have chosen this half-demolished office block on Armagh Street in central Christchurch as a nesting site. This gull was once the most threatened gull species in the world but with some recovery, is now listed as “near Threatened”.

Many conservationists and bird loves are thrilled at having this special bird in the heart of the city but not so the developer as the birds presence is preventing development. Local cafe owners also dislike the birds being around as they "harass" diners for food. I hope the bird wins the stand -off in the long run but I am unsure of the current status of the site. It is pretty rare that an animal ever wins in these situations.


Unfortunately I am still dealing with alot of issues that make it hard to be on computer for long periods. Not going to bore you with all that but it is the reason for my sporadic Flickr work.

Hope everyone is safe and well and enjoying any freedoms you may have.

Tags:   Christ Church New Zealand Black-billed gull bird endangered nests chicks Earthquake

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