New Zealand; Day 9 - Fiordland National Park

  From our base in Queenstown, after a shower and a lie-in, we drove the three hours to Te Anu in the Fiordland National Park and eventually arrived at around Midday. After a short stop to grab some lunch and supplies, we continued up the Milford Highway towards the town of Milford Sound, another hour and a half drive. We needed to arrive for our cruise trip along the fiord, which departed at 15:30.

  We did make it to the cruise with limited time to spare. The cruise itself took just under two hours, traveling all the way up the Milford Sound up to the Tasman Sea and then back again. The common birds were present as usual, but in addition there was a spectacular amount of Sooty Shearwaters, which I estimated to exceed 1000 birds. We initially met the flock at the mouth of the fiord, but soon many of the birds found their way down the fiord and for the entire return journey we encountered Sooty Shearwaters passing close by. A feeding frenzy of White-fronted Terns and Shearwaters certainly had the potential for something more, and so it transpired when a group in excess of five Bottlenose Dolphins started swimming up the fiord, frequently breaching their dorsal fins above the waves. A small group of New Zealand Fur Seals were also bathing on the rocks, and the scenery was truly spectacular.

  After the cruise, at around 17:00 we had a walk around Milford Sound itself, and had more intimate Weka encounters that again failed to generate the stunning photos I hoped for. What did happen however, was a Weka attacking the lens hood of my camera, repeatedly biting the neoprene cover. New Zealand Pigeon also showed nicely, and with the tide out at this point we could see a smart White-faced Heron feeding on the exposed shoreline.

  On the way back we planned to check the riverside stops again for Blue Duck, at least as long as time would allow. On our first stop we met a German birder who said someone else had been looking at the Monkey Creek just down the valley. As such we returned to that location in the chance of something happening, but there was nothing doing. But just as we were about to leave two medium-sized birds with dark wings flew downriver, just out of the corner of my eye.

  Although not confident, I wondered, so pursued the birds down the river as best as I could. And then, as I was about to round the corner, two Blue Duck flew past me at extremely close quarters before continuing upstream. It looked as though they dropped in but alas, that is not how it transpired as further searches produced nothing. The photos I got were not great, but clearly showed the identity of the birds. Blue Duck, after much effort, was finally on the trip list.

  It was already quite late at this point, so we continued back to Te Anu, to our campsite and then to bed. Our final day with the Fiordland National Park comes to an end with some more excellent birding and finally seeing the Blue Duck. 

-New Zealand Fur Seal

-Bottlenose Dolphins

-Cicada

Species List:
Fiordland National Park: Paradise Shelduck, Blue Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Mallard, New Zealand Pigeon, Weka, Variable Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Sooty Shearwater, Little Pied Cormorant, Australian Pied Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Great Egret, New Zealand Falcon, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch,