BROLGAS AND WADERS AT THE WTP

For the Melbourne Cup long weekend, my father and I decided to visit the Western Treatment Plant once more. Yet another phalarope had been reported from the Kirk Point area, so we decided to investigate this.

Our first stop was at the T-Section Lagoons, where we previously saw a vagrant phalarope. Upon arriving, we were informed that a family of Brolga were foraging on the banks of one of the lagoons. A quick scan of the lagoon's edges with my binoculars showed all 3 birds were feeding just below the road that circled the lagoon. By driving slowly along the road we were able to get great views of all 3 birds, including an adorable juvenile Brolga.

Unfortunately, brolgas are very rare in Victoria due to habitat loss

We also saw a few commoner waterbirds around the lagoon: the usual black swans, purple swamphens, silvergulls and Pacific black ducks were present.
Already amazed by the brolgas, we drove down to Kirk Point to see if we could see what would be the year's second phalarope. We scanned the rocky beaches around Kirk Point with our binoculars. Far off in the distance lay a small peninsula covered in roosting waders. We drove along to the peninsula and spent some time photographing the various birds present. The rocks were covered in red-necked stints and curlew sandpipers. A few Australian pied oystercatchers probed the ground near the rocks, scaring off any other waders that wandered near them. There were also several pied cormorants at the far end of the peninsula, and a lone greater crested tern flew over the area briefly. Finally, while we were inspecting the waders an Australasian gannet flew past the peninsula, looped back around over the beach and headed out to sea!

Red-necked stints and curlew sandpipers are extremely common migrants

This Australian pied oystercatcher hungrily probed clumps of seaweed for food

The waders began to get somewhat restless as we were about to leave, ready to fly off

The Western Treatment Plant is one of 3 mainland pied cormorant colonies in Victoria

All in all it was a great trip and we got spectacular views of some species we hadn't seen for a while.

NEW ZEALAND: Trip List

This is a list of all the species I saw on the New Zealand trip. The names of all lifers are marked in bold, the names of all endemics are marked in italics.

1: Southern Tokoeka
2: White-Capped Albatross
3: Buller's Albatross
4: Northern Royal Albatross
5: Common Diving-Petrel
6: Fiordland Crested Penguin
7: Yellow-Eyed Penguin
8: Little Blue Penguin
9: Brown Teal
10: New Zealand Scaup
11: Mallard
12: Grey Teal
13: Canada Goose
14: Paradise Shelduck
15: Little Pied Cormorant
16: Spotted Shag
17: Stewart Island Shag
18: Little Black Cormorant
19: Great Cormorant
20: Pied Cormorant
21: White-Faced Heron
22: Great Crested Grebe
23: Eurasian Coot
24: Weka
25: Swamp Harrier
26: Variable Oystercatcher
27: White-Naped Stilt
28: Masked Lapwing
29: Kelp Gull
30: Red-Billed Gull
31: Black-Billed Gull
32: White-Fronted Tern
33: Black-Fronted Tern
34: New Zealand Pigeon
35: Red-Fronted Parakeet
36: Yellow-Fronted Parakeet
37: Kaka
38: Kea
39: Eastern Rosella
40: Morepork
41: Rifleman
42: South Island Robin
43: North Island Robin
44: Tomtit
45: Whitehead
46: Yellowhead
47: Brown Creeper
48: Grey Warbler
49: Tui
50: New Zealand Bellbird
51: Stitchbird
52: North Island Saddleback
53: South Island Saddleback
54: New Zealand Fantail
55: Silvereye
56: Australian Magpie
57: European Starling
58: Yellowhammer
59: Common Chaffinch
60: Eurasian Goldfinch
61: House Sparrow
62: Dunnock
63: Blackbird
64: Song Thrush
65: Welcome Swallow
66: Skylark
67: Fernbird

TOTAL SPECIES SEEN: 67
LIFERS: 28

BIRDING NEW ZEALAND DAYS 10-11: Wellington

On our two last days, I managed to visit Zealandia. This is a predator-free reserve in the middle of Wellington, where a variety of native birds, reptiles and insects have been re-introduced. I was hoping to see most of the North Island endemics here, and I was not disappointed.
Throughout the reserve, North Island saddlebacks, grey warblers, blackbirds, whitehead, New Zealand bellbirds, tuis and New Zealand pigeons were abundant. The saddlebacks here were quite tame: certainly far more photogenic than their South Island cousins! We also came across red-crowned parakeets and North Island robins. Several feeders gave great views of kaka, along with blackbirds, house sparrows, dunnocks and chaffinches eating anything that the kaka dropped. The best part of the sanctuary were feeders filled with sugar water at the Discovery area: these provided amazing looks at the extremely rare stitchbird! The wetlands of the old reservoir held lifer brown teal, along with commoner waterbirds like pied cormorant, little pied cormorant, paradise shelduck and mallard. Finally, a grassy area near the wetland was home to a pair of beautiful takahe. I also got to see my first weta: weta 'hotels' gave me looks at Wellington tree weta, while an abandoned mine was full of resting cave weta. All in all, it was a great experience.

This North Island saddleback was bathing in a stream near the path

Takahe are sometimes described as swamphen on steroids

The North Island robin is darker than its South and Stewart Island counterparts

You can tell this stitchbird is angry as it has raised the white feathers above its eyes

A brown teal sleepily sitting on some damp grass

Kaka are closely related to kea, sharing the same genus

These Wellington tree weta rest here during the day, only coming out at night

Whitehead behave very similarly to yellowhead, even having a similar call

BIRDING NEW ZEALAND DAY 9: Queenstown to Wellington

At around 10 am, my father and I decided to walk along the shore of Lake Wakatipu, looking for birds. The lake held several waterbirds, most notable of which were large amounts of New Zealand scaup. Mallards, Eurasian coots, grey teal and little pied cormorants could also be seen. In the trees beside the lake, we saw many silvereyes, along with introduced species such as dunnocks, chaffinches, goldfinches, house sparrows, blackbirds and song thrushes. The real star of the walk was a great crested grebe swimming magnificently in the lake, which we took many photos of. On the way back I saw 2 black-billed gulls perched on the jetty, but at that point we had to hurry to the airport and I couldn't stop to photograph them.

It was good to see how common New Zealand scaup were at Queenstown

Goldfinches were far more successful in New Zealand than in Australia

Dunnocks didn't survive in Australia, but thrive in New Zealand

Chaffinches also didn't manage to survive the Australian climate

The great crested grebe is somewhat rare in New Zealand

We then flew into Wellington, to get to my father's conference.

BIRDING NEW ZEALAND DAY 8: Milford Sound to Queenstown

The day began with a delicious hot breakfast onboard the ship. We then headed towards the Tasman Sea, exiting the sound. While travelling, the ship stopped to observe 3 lifer Fiordland crested penguins hopping into the water, one of my target birds! This meant that on our trip we had seen all 3 of mainland New Zealand's resident penguins! As always, we were treated to amazing views. After exiting the sea we saw a beach where Maori tribes used to harvest greenstone, before re-entering the sound. I managed to see another Fiordland crested penguin swimming near the boat. As we headed to our final stop, the Milford Discovery Centre, we stopped once more to observe nearby New Zealand fur seals.

This beach is where we observed the penguins hopping into the water

Unfortunately, this was the best shot I got of the Fiordland crested penguin

Orange boulders on this beach contain rare nephrite jade, or greenstone

Mitre Peak stands tall at the entrance of Milford Sound

The cliffs of Mt. Kimberly are so high that nobody has ever climbed them

Young male New Zealand fur seals rest on the rocky shoreline of Milford Sound 

We were dropped off at the Milford Discovery Centre. This building on the shore of Harrison Cove contains a floating observatory that extends 10 metres down. Areas at the edge of the observatory have been planted with Black Coral, which entices many different animals into the surrounds of the structure. Our guide pointed out a wide variety of animals, from sea cucumbers and urchins on the cliff face, to snake stars wrapped around the coral.

Milford's dark waters allow black coral to grow in much shallower depths than normal

A smooth leatherjacket feeds at the edge of the observatory

A marblefish has hidden itself on the observatory's edge

Scarlet wrasse start life as females and eventually change their gender 

The black sea star wrapped around the coral is a snake star

A butterfly perch sleeps behind some black coral

These oblique-swimming triplefin are endemic to New Zealand

The drive to Queenstown was quite uneventful: we briefly passed by the black-billed gull nesting site but couldn't stop. We also saw many swamp harriers.

BIRDING NEW ZEALAND DAY 7: Te Anau to Milford Sound

After breakfast at 9 am, we started the drive along the beautiful Milford Sound Road. Our first stop was Mirror Lakes. In the morning sun, the lakes look just as we had imagined them, the mountains perfectly reflected in their waters.

The lakes were somewhat crowded, but not so crowded that it spoiled the experience

Our next stop was Lake Gunn. The nature walk here was recommended for seeing native birds. This proved true, as immediately after driving into the carpark we saw a lone South Island robin. The walk itself was quite productive, with brown creeper, New Zealand bellbird and kaka all high in the trees. We heard, and briefly saw, a single rifleman. On the way back a South Island robin flew up to us and inspected us for a few minutes. We were also treated to great views across the lake.

A view across a rocky beach of glacial Lake Gunn

South Island robins have paler-coloured upperparts than their North Island cousins

We stopped briefly near the Homer Tunnel, but because of avalanche danger we weren't able to walk the trail to see rock wren. While stopping, we did see 3 inquisitive kea. 

The kea is the world's only alpine parrot, and is endemic to New Zealand

We stopped once more at the Chasm, then it was on to Milford Sound. At the sound, we had a quick lunch from the information centre, took our bags from our car and boarded an overnight cruise. Birdwise the first section of the cruise brought nothing but kelp gulls, though there were several areas where New Zealand fur seals were resting on the rocks. However, we were treated to even more amazing views. The boat came up to the base of Fury and Sterling Falls, spraying us all with water!

Sterling Falls cascades down one of Milford Sound's shorter cliffs

A view across Milford Sound

Several New Zealand fur seals rested on these rocks

The cliffs and mountains surrounding Milford are insanely tall

We anchored in Harrison's Cove, where we would be spending the night. We went out on a small guided boat trip into the cove. First, we checked out an area known as Penguin Cove, trying to see Fiordland crested penguins, but with no luck we moved on. We drove slowly past the shore, looking at the marks left by tree avalanches. A few New Zealand bellbirds and South Island robins could be seen in the distance, perched atop small trees. Apparently they are the only birds that can make it past the high mountains framing the sound. We then drifted in front of the Harrison River, allowing great photos of the cove. Finally, we drove into the sound for a look at the sunset.

The area of snow high on that mountain covers a glacier

Due to the high mountains, much of the sunset isn't visible from the sound

BIRDING NEW ZEALAND DAY 6: Stewart Island to Te Anau

Our 6th day in New Zealand consisted mainly of driving. Early in the morning, we woke up, had our breakfast and took the 8 am ferry to Invercargill. Here, we rented a new car from the airport, ate some food and began the drive to Te Anau. Bird-wise we didn't really see much, until we were about 10 kilometres from Te Anau. A roadside reserve held a breeding colony of lifer black-billed gulls, along with New Zealand scaup, white-naped stilts, grey teal and Paradise shelducks.

White-naped stilts colonised New Zealand from Australia

The grey teal is another Australian bird also found in New Zealand

Black-billed gulls are endemic to New Zealand and closely related to silvergulls

As the name suggests, the New Zealand scaup is also endemic to New Zealand

As there was still plenty of time left before it would get dark, we decided to drive a short distance up the Milford Sound Road. First, we stopped at Mistletoe Lake and did a short walk. There were many New Zealand bellbirds, house sparrows and chaffinches here. Our next stop was Mirror Lake. On the way, we saw a flock of distant lifer black-fronted terns hunting over a paddock, along with some yellowhammers. As we neared Mirror Lakes we were treated to breathtaking views of the Eglinton Valley.

A blurry shot of some endemic black-fronted terns

The yellowhammer was introduced to New Zealand from Britain

There seemed to be beautiful views wherever we looked in Fiordland

Unfortunately, while at Mirror Lakes the weather turned for the worse and we weren't treated with the views we'd hoped for. We decided to return tomorrow.

BIRDING NEW ZEALAND DAY 5: Stewart Island

Today was mainly to be a day of relaxing, however we had booked a Patterson Inlet wildlife cruise (again with Furhana of Ruggedy Ranges) as the weather was too calm for a pelagic to be productive. We first approached a group of red-billed gulls, kelp gulls and white-fronted terns hovering over the water, feeding on fish. Close inspection revealed some distant spotted shags, as well as several rafts of little blue penguins.

This little blue penguin was one of many we saw on the cruise

We then headed out to sea, past a lighthouse and towards Sarah's Cove. On the way, our skipper, Kevin, spotted a distant white-capped albatross. Using some fish Furhana had brought to attract birds, we managed to lure it near our boat. A second, juvenile white-capped albatross soon appeared and both birds gave us spectacular views.

The white-capped albatross is one of 3 species recently split from the shy albratross

You can tell this bird is an adult because its bill has a bright yellow tip

Though small for an albatross, white-capped albatrosses still have large wingspans

We then entered Sarah's Cove and watched for Fiordland crested penguins, though none were seen. On the way to the next site, a lifer Buller's albatross flew past the boat. The fish came in handy again, as we were able to lure it near the boat. The white-capped albatrosses from the previous feeding realised what was going on and also flew in.

A Buller's albatross flies past the Stewart Island coastline

The yellow-black bill and grey head show this bird is a Buller's albatross

The white-capped (left) and Buller's albatrosses (right) swimming together

Our next stop was a large rocky islet protruding from the sea and alive with birds. Two endemic spotted shags perched on one side of the rock, while a stunning Stewart Island shag scanned the sea from the top. White-fronted terns, kelp gulls and red-billed gulls were all perched atop the right-hand side of the rock. Finally, a white-throated phase little pied cormorant was drying its wings on the far end.

The spotted shag on the right's crest shows it has entered breeding phase

Though also found in Australia, the stronghold of the white-fronted tern is New Zealand

The white-throated form of the little pied cormorant is unique to New Zealand

The Stewart Island shag has two forms: the pied form (shown here) and a bronze form

Our second-last stop was the Snuggery, an area of Ulva Island where pied cormorants, little black cormorants and little pied cormorants breed. The area was alive with activity. Many of the large cormorant nests still held a chick. We even got to see some parents feeding their young by regurgitating into their throats.

The pied cormorant is another bird commoner in Australia than New Zealand

We cruised by the Bravo Islands looking for yellow-eyed penguin, but were not successful. We then returned to the island, where we relaxed for the rest of the day. The only event of note bird-wise was near dinner, when I observed a kelp gull trying to eat a sea star it had caught.

The kelp gull is abundant in New Zealand, but quite uncommon in Australia