New Zealand; Day 4 - Okarito & Lake Pukaki

  After last nights disappointment, today I was keen to try and set things right, getting back to form. Unfortunately a lot of the day would be spent driving, as I travelled from Okarito to Lake Pukaki, a six hour drive with stops but obviously much longer with breaks. It turned out however to be an absolutely gorgeous drive, at least for the first three hours, travelling through lush coastal forests with beautiful mountains on one side and the Tasman Sea on the other side.

  I spent the first couple of hours birding the beach at Okarito. The sunlight was fantastic and I got very nice views of the Variable Oystercatchers on the beach, showing very nicely and looking very handsome in the morning light. The White-fronted Tern flock I had seen the previous evening were still present and showing well, especially when they were harassed by an Arctic Skua first thing. Also on the beach were both an adult Silver Gull, and an adult Black-billed Gull, both my first proper look at the species pair of the trip. A flyby pair of Little Pied Cormorant rounded off the new birds nicely.

  As mentioned, the drive along the road was lovely, although the roadworks and winding mountain passes were not easily navigated. It was on this route that I started to see the New Zealand Pigeon, and after a few short stops I finally got excellent views of one gorging itself on fruit next to the road. Additionally, I saw my first Tui of the trip on the same stop, which alighted briefly on the side of the road next to me. A midday walk up the trail at the Haasts Pass brought some nice common forest birds, such as a pair of Rifleman, but nothing new.

  Late afternoon the road passed an artificial reservoir so I made a short stop here to scan for birds. There were a few species of interest here, including masses of Black-billed Gulls of various ages. Ducks were also present, although not in huge numbers, with Pacific Black Duck and New Zealand Scaup being the standouts from this short stop.

  Finally at 18:30, 10 hours after departing from Okarito, I arrived at the north end of Lake Pukaki, just as the light was getting good. So I immediately went onto the reserve to find the Black Stilt, hoping I would be able to easily pick them out, and so it transpired with a few of these birds being fantastically confiding allowing unbelievable views. Finally, a target bird that landed easily and without any problems at all.

  The birding here was good. In addition to the Stilt there were many Two-banded Plover of all ages running around the beaches, sometimes close and confiding. New Zealand Pipit was also very approachable and I got some very nice photos here. Using the scope I was able to pick out a pair of Royal Spoonbill but very distantly on the shingle. As the light wore on a juvenile Black-fronted Tern started fishing the channel in front of me, before rounding off the evening with a nice White-faced Heron. Additionally to the new birds, there were great numbers of Paradise Shelducks and other commoner species here, making the whole experience very enjoyable.

  Sadly however, there was no sign of the Wrybill. Another check in the morning will hopefully be more fruitful.

Species List:
Okarito: Paradise Shelduck, New Zealand Pigeon, Australasian Swamphen, Variable Oystercatcher, Masked Lapwing, Parasitic Jaeger, Silver Gull, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Egret, Swamp Harrier, Tui, New Zealand Fantail, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Lesser Redpoll,
Haasts Pass: Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Rifleman, Tomtit, Silvereye, Lesser Redpoll,
Lake Pukaki – Tasman Delta: Canada Goose, Black Swan, Paradise Shelduck, Australasian Shoveler, Grey Teal, Black Stilt, Masked Lapwing, Double-banded Plover, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Black-fronted Tern, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Swamp Harrier, Eurasian Skylark, Welcome Swallow, New Zealand Pipit, Lesser Redpoll,