New Zealand July - December 2015, Trounson Kauri Park

Trounson Kauri Park is the second most famous Kauri park after Waipoua Forest and has just like Waipoua Forest some pretty massive Kauri trees. Unlike Waipoua Forest, however, it is a reasonably reliable site to observe North Island Brown Kiwi. These nightly critters can be observed on a two-and-a-half hour long Guided Kiwi Walk organized by Kauri Coast Top 10 Holiday Park (25 NZD), or by simply going into forest on your own. We joined a guided walk and enjoyed the nightly stroll a lot.

As I have been searching for Kiwi's for several times now, I figured out what the best strategy is to get one into to red light or your torch: Listen for their calls and follow the direction of the call. However, you will not find them solely by call, as the often call irregularly with intervals of 30 minutes or longer. Tape does not work either. Therefore, another strategy has to be applied: walk very quietly through the forest and listen for their "sneezes" and footsteps. I found this method very reliable and have found four of the five Kiwi species in this fashion so far. Applying this method also revealed a young male North Island Brown Kiwi in the Trounson Kauri Park and it allowed stunning views.

Male North Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

Apart from this the Kiwi we also enjoyed good views of several endemic fish species such as the endangered New Zealand Long-finned Eel and Shortjaw Kokopu. Other highlights were some Tree Weta's and Koura (endemic freshwater crayfish). I can recommend the guided night walk, but calling ahead to make your booking is necessary (006494390621). As most places in New Zealand, access to Trounson Kauri Park by public transport is rather limited and perhaps hitchhiking is the best option...

New Zealand Long-finned Eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii)

New Zealand February - June 2015, Zealandia (night tour)

As promised in a previous post, we paid Zealandia (former Karori Sanctuary) a visit at night, during one of their special (guided) Kiwi Tours. Normally these tours cost 75 NZD, but as we are Zealandia members, we only had to pay 50% of the price, which makes becoming a Zealandia member definitely an economically interesting option. Night tours have to be reserved and paid (with a credit card) in advance through this website. The starting times are different throughout the year, as they are correlated with the time the sun sets.

We started at 19:45 after we had an introduction talk by our guide about the reserve and the work that is being done here. We also received special red-light flashlights from the guides, as you are not allowed to use normal flashlights (or flashes on cameras) in the reserve at night. When we entered the reserve we were just in time to see some diurnal birds as well, like New Zealand Kaka's (which actually are also nocturnal as recent studies have shown!), New Zealand Pigeons, South Island Takahe, New Zealand Scaups and Australian Pied Cormorants.

Just after dusk Moreporks started calling from several places, but as you are not allowed to use playback, the chances of seeing these owls are fairly slim, even though they are quite common within the reserve. Pretty quickly after the sun had set, our guide received information through a walkie-talkie that a Kiwi had been found close by, so we hurried to the site. An yes, there it was, walking through the undergrowth, a Little Spotted Kiwi! We could easily observe it as it was foraging and at a certain point it got scared by a duck and ran towards us and crossed a small bridge, allowing absolutely stunning views of their jolly little walk and head-bobbing! The Little Spotted Kiwi's in Zealandia are reintroduced and originate from Kapiti Island, but they are breeding inside the reserve.

It is very difficult to photograph a Little Spotted Kiwi (Apterix owenii) in the red light of the flashlights. 

A little later we visited some Kaka feeders and found two Brown Teals foraging underneath it. These little nocturnal ducks often venture onto land and into the forest. Here we also observed another Little Spotted Kiwi and we thought of ourselves as very lucky. Little did we know that a few minutes later we would have a third encounter with a very tame (or confused) individual that walked up and down a small bridge and in the end walked into our group and poked the shoe of my friend, passing just centimeters in front of me! Two New Zealand Long-finned Eels, which measured up to one meter, venturing onto land from a small stream, some Cave Weta's and quite some glow worms emitting blue (not greenish as I am used to) light finished the tour very nicely.
I can highly recommend this tour to everybody. It is an amazing experience to see a Kiwi, but the other wildlife that can also be seen at Zealandia, make it an even more special night out!

New Zealand February - June 2015, Waikanae Estuary

After visiting Kapiti Island, it seemed to me like a good idea to combine the visit to the island with a short visit to the Waikanae estuary. It is located a couple of km to the north of Paraparaumu and I figured we could walk there. The area struck me as interesting as I found some old sightings of Banded Dotterel, Wrybill and Shore plover (probably stray individuals from the Mana Island reintroduction project) from this area.

The walk from the Paraparaumu boat club was much longer than anticipated and it was rather hot. As we arrived on the southern part of the estuary we checked out the sand bars and observed some White-headed Stilts, Variable Oystercatchers and White-faced Herons, next to the ever present Kelp and Red-billed Gulls. We could also see some Fluttering Shearwaters flying over the ocean. We entered the Scientific Reserve and followed the tracks, but did not see that many birds, but some Pukeko (Purple Swamphen) were entertaining. Once we reached the Waikanae River we saw that the northern side of the estuary looked more promising and so we went further inland to find a bridge to cross the river. On the Northern Side of the estuary we observed some interesting species like Royal Spoonbill, Paradise Shelduck, Australian Shoveler, Grey Teal, New Zealand Scaup and White-headed Stilt. However, I somehow imagined it to be a more interesting birding site.

White-headed Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus)

I would not recommend to go all the way here from Wellington, even though it is easily accessible, nor would I recommend to combine a visit to Kapiti Island with this site. The birds and the area were simply not that interesting. Manu Watu estuary sounds like a much more interesting place and might be a better guess when you want to see some shore and wetland birds in the south of the North island.

New Zealand February - June 2015, Kapiti Island

Kapiti Island is an island sanctuary a little to the North of Wellington. It is famous for being the last place where Little Spotted Kiwi occurs naturally, while it got wiped out every else. However nowadays Little Spotted Kiwis have been translocated to various other off shore islands and some land island on the main North Island too. Kapiti Island is still a very interesting place to go to as it harbors loads of native bird species, of which some of them have been introduced to the predator free sanctuary like the rare Kokako. There are three companies that offer tours to the island: Kapiti Island Nature Tours, Kapiti Tours and Kapiti Marine Charter. We chose to use the latter, as this company is the only company that offers student discounts and they appear to spend more time on the island than the other companies. A day trip costs around 75 NZD (60 NZD with student discount at Kapiti Marine Charter), but guided tours cost extra. There is also the option to stay overnight with Kapiti Island Nature Tours to see Kiwis, but this will cost you around 350 NZD and was to expensive for our taste. There are two places on Kapiti where the boats land: Rangatira and North End. The difference between the two is that Rangatira has better forest apparently and therefore more forest birds, while North End is a better place to see shore and wetland birds. We chose for Rangatira, as there is a bigger chance to see the rare Kokako here.

All tours start from Paraparaumu and we reached this little town by public transport from Wellington (one way 9.50 to 11.50 NZD). We took a train around 06:00 and arrived around 07:00 in Paraparaumu. From Paraparaumu train station it takes roughly an hour walk to get to the boating club, where the boat leaves. After the bio-security check (check your bags and disinfect your walking shoes) we were ready to go to the island. As soon as we were in the water Fluttering Shearwaters appeared all around us and allowed very good views! Some White-fronted Terns and a single Spotted Shag were also nice. Occasionally Australian Gannets, Sooty Shearwaters and Common Diving-petrels are observed here as well and probably even rarer species can turn up, so keep your eyes open! Once you are on the island you will hear Tui and New Zealand Bellbird everywhere, but first you will have to listen to a little talk about the island and its birds.There are two tracks you can take from Rangatira point to the top of the island (521 m). The Wilkinson track and the Trig track, which is a little less neat than the Wilkinson track. Furthermore you are not supposed to take the Trig track down. So we walked the Trig track up and the Wilkinson track down.

Map of Rangatira point, Kapiti Island. The little Kokako stickers show where they have been seen regularly. I added our sighting as well.

As soon as we got started we encountered our first Wekas. These flightless rails are a common sight on this island. They are not shy at all and they will try to get at your food as will some Kakas! At the grasslands we also observed a single New Zealand Pipit. Once in the forest we saw loads of native species including Red-crowned Parakeet, New-zealand Pigeon, North Island Saddleback, North Island Robin, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird (which are extremely common here), Stitchbird (which are commonly seen around the two feeders, but are rare elsewhere inside the forest), New Zealand Fantail and Whitehead. Tomtit is apparently also present on the island, but we found none. A real highlight was seeing a Long-tailed Koel. They must be getting ready to fly North by now! Another real highlight was seeing a Kokako. This species was the main reason for me to pay this island a visit as there are around 32 pairs of Kokako here. We found a single individual, a juvenile with purple wattles. almost at the top. Unfortunately we did not hear any of the haunting, far-carrying calls, that are so typical of this species. The sighting however made me extremely happy still!

North Island Weka (Gallirallus australis scotti) approaching

Long-tailed Koel (Urodynamis taitensis)

Male Stitchbird or Hihi (Notiomystis cincta)

Singing New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanurus). A common sound on Kapiti Island

On our way back at around 15:00 the Fluttering Shearwaters were present in much lower numbers, but we got treated with some really nice views of Short-snouted Common Dolphins, who played in our wake! What a way to end this already very successful trip!

Part of a pod of Short-snouted Common Dolphins (Delphinus delphis)

I highly recommend a visit to this island sanctuary. Even though many species present here can be simply seen in Zealandia, some are not present in Zealandia like Weka, Kokako and Tomtit. Furthermore, the crossing offers some opportunities to see some sea wildlife. Also, the species composition differs from Zealandia, with New Zealand Bellbird being the most common species on Kapiti, while Tui is more numerous in Zealandia. So, don't compare the two and just visit both!

New Zealand February - June 2015, Zealandia

When spending some time in the capitol of New Zealand, Wellington, a visit to Zealandia, the former Karori Reserve is a must. It is a 225 hectare land island established by putting up an innovative fence, intensive predator control and reintroducing loads of native species. All native birds are currently doing well, except for the Australian Shoveler, the Weka and the Tomtit, which have died out inside the reserve due to various reasons. Have a look at their very informative website here and their comprehensive species list here. The reserve is easily reached on foot from Central Wellington, but busses stop in front of the entrance as well. When nearing Zealandia you can already see New Zealand Kaka's fly over the valley, New Zealand Pigeons perching on the trees and  you can hear Tui's calling from everywhere; a great entree! The entrance is 17.50 NZD for adults and 9 NZD for adults, which includes a visit to the very nice exhibition, where you can even see a specimen of the extinct Huia! When entering the park, bags should be checked for plants or animals that might accidentally be introduced into the park. Note that the following report is only based on a single visit to the recommended route and that there are tracks leading much deeper into the reserve.

Singing Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae)

The Zealandia fence

As soon as you are through the fence you can see the lower reservoir where we enjoyed close views of Paradise Shelducks, New-zealand Scaups, Welcome Swallows and the first "Grallards" (Pacific Black Duck X Mallard hybrids), which were commonly seen throughout the reserve. There is also a small area here that shows some Wellington Green Gecko's in a terrarium. Look out for these cool fellows as they do occur in the wild inside the reserve! Further along the reservoir there is a small cormorant colony and four species of cormorant are commonly seen inside the reserve, but we also enjoyed great views of a juvenile Brown Teal here! Close to the cormorant colony, there is a smaller fenced area inside the big fenced area. This area holds two individuals of South Island Takahe and they allowed spectacular views and even approached us! What medieval creatures!

Juvenile Brown Teal (Anas Chlorotis)

South Island Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri)

Further inside the forest New Zealand Fantail, North-island Saddleback, North-island Robin (which is often so tame that one hopped onto my foot and tried to eat my shoelace!), Tui and Silvereye are common. Whitehead and Grey Gerygone (Grey Warbler) were also observed inside the forest, but less not so often However some other native birds are easier to find at the feeders, where they receive supplementary food. At their feeders New Zealand Kaka's can be seen very well. We also observed how several species tried to get to the Kaka food, like New Zealand Bellbird, Stitchbird (Hihi) and Brown Teal! The same goes for the Red-crowned Parakeets (Kakariki), they can be seen flying through the forest occasionally, but at their feeders they are not so shy. Unfortunately the Stitchbirds were not present at all at their feeders and consequently we were very happy to have seen them before at the Kaka feeders!

North Island Robin (Petroica (australis) longipes) inspecting my shoe. Image taken by Jason Preble.

North-island Saddleback (Philesturnus rufusater)

Whitehead (Mohoua albicilla)

North Island Kaka (Nestor meriodinalis septentrionalis)

Red-crowned Parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae noveaezelandiae)

At the upper dam some more New Zealand Scaups and Paradise Shelducks were present, but we also got lucky with seeing a vulnerable New Zealand Grebe, which had apparently not been sighted here before! A bit later, at the Tuatara Research Area, we got lucky again: a Long-tailed Koel came flying by! Apparently a difficult species and only a rare visitor here! At the Tuatara Research Area we had very entertaining views of these unique reptiles and saw some young ones with a much more contrasting pattern on their back too. We also saw a single Common Skink inside the Tuatara Research Area, but I guess it was not specifically placed here.

Adult Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

Summing it all up: Zealandia is an experience not to be missed in Wellington. As I will be staying quite some time in this "coolest little capitol of the world" I will most likely write some more post on Zealandia. Especially as there are night tours as well to sea Little Spotted Kiwi! Watch this space!