In one of my previous blogs I mentioned I would do a separate one on the birds and this is really because there are some truly unique and often flightless birds are are and remain endangered. New Zealanders LOVE their birds and James our CEO is utterly passionate about them, and was really quite infectious! Conservation work in this area is huge and on going;-

Iconic Native Species:

Kiwi – The National Icon: First things first, you do NOT eat Kiwi these are endangered birds! You might get yourself in trouble saying the above, you eat Kiwi FRUIT!

The Kiwi is a nocturnal, flightless bird, it has hair-like feathers, an unusual beak with nostrils at the tip. only saw one of these in a controlled environment, no pics allowed, in the Rotarua conservation centre. Kiwi’s produce enormous eggs (this can be the size of an Emu egg despite the Kiwi being chicken sized), sometimes weighing up to 25% of the female’s body weight, making them the largest egg-to-body weight ratio of any bird, comparable to a human giving birth to a toddler!!!!!

Blue Duck: Endangerd species of wild fowl and I was one of the few that actually saw two in flight at the Blue duck station, just too fast for me to catch them on camera 😦

White Heron: A very rare sighting! RHS pic – as per one of my previous blogs we were so lucky to see one of these, a man that had stopped had been looking for 25 years! He was booked on the below tour the next day! Typical!

Kea: The world’s only alpine parrot. Known for its height intelligence and mischievous nature! The first sighting of these were at Franz Joseph, we were out in our Jammies as we could hear them just couldn’t see them but over the coming day they were not so elusive!

Weka: Another flightless bird, famous for its cheeky nature! Cheeky is an understatement “kleptomaniac” is a better description! They are fearless around humans and notorious for stealing shiny objects, food, socks or anything that isn’t securely put away, they can open zips, bags etc and Fio and I saw one in action trying to get into rucksacks!

Kakapo: A critically endangered , flightless nocturnal parrot, it is the heaviest parrot in the world. Often known as the Owl Parrot, it is a large nocturnal, ground dwelling parrot. They are two heavy to fly!

Takahe: Large, flightless swamp hens once thought to be extinct until their rediscovery in 1948 by Dr Geoffrey Orwell, who found them in the remote Murchison Mountains in the Fiordland. Famously monogamous and often stay with their mate for their entire lives.

Tui: Famous for their complex songs and white throat tufts (called poi). Early European settlers called them “parson birds” because they resembled clerical attire. They are clever mimics often heard in gardens and forests. They have a dual voice box that allows them to produce a massive range of sounds, including melodious notes, clicks, grunts and wheezes! Tui are incredibly intelligent. They are members of the “honeyeater family” and primarily feed on nectar from native plants like Harakeke (flax), the also eat fruit and insects. We were so lucky to see them with beaks covered in pollen which is a once a year opportunity!

Kereru: A large glossy “ very fat” pigeon, very small head, I am not sure they are that bright either, they play a vital role in dispersing seeds for native trees.

Karearea:

Others:

There are of course Shags & Boobies but apparently no Tits! Ellen did ask as she has Blue Tits! At Home in her garden. Which we all roared at, as poor Ellen literally goes blue with the cold, especially her hands, so of course she does, she also has some brown ones too. You can look these guys up, I did see this guy and you can see why he is one of the Shag family lol …