After yesterdays downpour we were desperate to make up for lost time around the Fiordland National Park, both for exploring and for birding. That said, I spent the first couple of hours exploring the campsite area while Ben slept a bit more. There was nothing new, although a pair of very confiding Rifleman in the early morning gloom were easily the best views I had of this species until this point. While having breakfast a little later a New Zealand Kaka flew over, which was the final available species of New Zealand Parrot available on this trip.
Most of the rest of the morning was spent slowly making our way up the Milford Highway towards Milton Sound, one of the most famous areas
in all of New Zealand, renowned for its natural beauty. Along the way we made several stops near the river to search for Blue Duck, but it was already
quite busy and we had no joy at any of the spots we checked. A New Zealand
Falcon flew overhead which was probably the highlight. After passing through
Homer's Tunnel we stopped a few more times, and had our first Weka of the
morning at a spot called ‘the Chasm’ although it wasn’t super interesting.
Once we arrived at the tourist village of Milford Sound we
spent an hour walking along the edge of the fiord. The Weka were very tame as
we expected, with a family with at least two chicks in the car park itself,
taking a roadkill House Sparrow out of the grill of one of the cars. There was
another individual in an adjacent park which took a fancy to some leftover
pasta to feast upon. Sadly the hoped-for Kea encounter did not arise, with no
sign of any particularly habituated individuals.
On the way back down the Milford Highway, after a little
eBird research told us that there was a good chance for Rockwren on the scree
slopes at the entrance to Homers Tunnel, I persuaded Ben to make a stop. Conveniently, there
was a tour group from the US there already, with a New Zealand guide, and they
had been searching for two hours without success. Still, we decided to wait it
out, and after half an hour the tour group finally picked up on a Rockwren,
which they kindly brought us over to see. The bird was brilliantly confiding,
showing extremely well as it moved around the rocks, and perching right in
front of us. It was always mobile, however, and difficult to keep track of so
our time with it was somewhat limited, even if it did show incredibly well.
After that we drove back from the Milford Highway, three
hours to the town of Queenstown further inland, where we would collect Ben's
girlfriend before returning to the National Park the following day. With
Rockwren safely under the belt, attention returns to trying to find the Blue
Duck, before moving on to other goodies.
Fiordland National Park: Pacific Black Duck, New Zealand Pigeon, Weka, Variable Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Little Pied Cormorant, New Zealand Falcon, Kea, New Zealand Kaka, Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Rifleman, New Zealand Rockwren, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, South Island Robin, Welcome Swallow, Dunnock, Eurasian Chaffinch,
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