Ogden Water

   The jetlag was finally begun to reside a little, which meant today I was able to get out birding. It helped that the poor weather had eased a little and it was actually nice to be out birding again. Yesterday there had been a flock of Whooper Swans on Ogden, and since the weather was still quite dull it followed that they would still be present.

  I headed to Ogden at around 08:30 to find all 21 birds from the previous day still present on the water. They were not particularly vocal, leading me to think they may have moved on whilst I walked down to the waters edge. Once there however the birds were quite happy and would swim near to the sides at times as well, allowing for some nice shots of them.

  After Ogden I headed to Soil Hill for a look round, where I had a flock of 15 Whooper Swans flying north. It is impossible to know if these are some of the same birds from Ogden, but it is certainly a possibility. A nice return to Calderdale birding after six weeks away. 

Whooper Swan

New Zealand; Day 20 - Lake Ellesmere & Departure

 It doesn’t feel that long since I arrived in New Zealand, and yet today would be my final day in this wonderful country. My flight did not depart until the evening, so I had a final morning but knew it would have to be something near to Christchurch. As such, I decided to return to Haasts Creek on the south shore of Lake Ellesmere, less than an hours drive from the airport. My plan was to try again for the Spotless Crake that I had heard on my previous visit, only this time it would be early morning and hopefully I would be more successful.

I walked the 10 minutes along Haasts Creek to the platform where the bird hide had once stood, to try my luck once again with the tape to see if the Crake would come out. It took some time for the bird to respond, and then it did not come with a call that I had on the Merlin App, which threw me for a time. Yet despite this and the bird coming extremely close, I could not get it to come out for me to see it. It was a frustrating encounter.

As such I switched up my tactics and moved to a dried up pool just round the corner from the platform. Here it was more open and after a little playback the bird started to move towards me again. And then, finally, I spotted it climbing over the reeds. I was shocked by how large the bird was, as I had expected a small crake like in South America, but this was much bigger. Although it showed well it did not sit out in the open for extended periods and taking photos was a nightmare. In the end I do not think I managed a single sharp photo, but I got enough to remember the encounter after all the effort I put in.

For the rest of the morning I stood on the platform and scanned the wetland peering over the reeds. The composition of birds was very similar to my last visit, but as I scanned I was shocked to pick out another crake on the far side, feeding in the open on the edge of the reeds. The distance and the heat haze made it difficult to work out, but the brown back clearly extended up the neck onto the head, and at times you could make out the white spots on the back, making this a Baillon’s Crake, a brilliant bonus bird for my trip. It continued to feed out in the open for some time, and at one point was even joined by a second individual.

There were plentiful other birds in the area as well. Once again there were flybys from the Royal Spoonbills, sometimes showing nicely. Additionally there were ample Pied Stilts on the edge of the mud. Walking along the trails there were plenty of extremely tame New Zealand Fantails once again, making for a very pleasant mornings birding.

I finished off my morning at 11:00 and headed back to the campsite to arrange my items. Once sorted I undertook the half hour drive to the airport, stopping to fill up the car, and the dropped the car back off. At 13:00 I was in the airport, drawing to a close my three week New Zealand adventure, what a brilliant time and a brilliant country! 

New Zealand; Day 19 - Kaikoura

 Today was going to be a busy day! With yesterdays Whale Watching Trip cancelled, I had rescheduled it for this afternoon, as well as my already booked Albatross Encounter in the morning which would a boat trip focussing on seabirds. As I had feared, the drop in the wind had taken its toll on the number of birds passing, but this was my chance to get close to the seabirds I had watched from the shore the previous day.

The Albatross Encounter set off at 09:15 with the morning blue skies, and over the next two hours I had brilliant close encounters with a number of seabirds. The first species was a brilliant Gibsons Antipodean Albatross which dominated the chum, fighting off a raft of Northern Giant Petrels and a single Southern Giant Petrel. At the back sat a few Salvin’s Albatross as well as around 40 Cape Petrels. Having only managed to see a single individual in all my Seawatching the previous day, I could not believe how many Cape Petrels there were, with them coming extremely close to feed, and also flying next to us while we were in transit. Another nice bonus was a Antipodean Albatross sporting a satellite tag and leg ring, and individual that our guide said they see only a few times a year whos partner was sat on eggs on their nest. Passing by were a few Bullers Shearwaters and Huttons Shearwater, but the calm conditions were clearly causing a few problems, and we also found a small group of four Westlands Petrels sat on the water, giving me a chance to look at this target species. On the way back we also had a solitary Little Penguin.

Although the seabirds were amazing, the show was absolutely stolen by a pod of around 10 Dusky Dolphins. As we came out of harbour we could see the animals a little way off with their fins frequently protruding from the calm water. However, when we started chumming in deep water we had an incredible encounter when they approached us, so close you could see them swimming under the boat and felt their bow-waves shaking the vessel. One animal decided to go a little crazy and we saw it breach about five times in a row, throwing itself out of the water. It was awesome to witness.

Once back on shore, I had just over an hour to wait before my Whale Watching Tour. I had mainly booked it as an excuse to get back out into the sea, while I might also see some Sperm Whales, the key species for the Kaikoura whale watching industry. The boat out to the deep water was rough, but it was a large vessel with a lot of people on board, much more so than the mornings small intimate boat.

Once we reached the deep water, there was immediately an announcement that there was a whale just off the boat, so everyone got ready on deck and eagerly awaited. Although the animal was initially identified as a Sperm Whale, when it reappeared the ID was quickly corrected to a BLUE WHALE! Of all the species to see on this trip, the largest animal in the world was not one of them. And not only did we see, but we saw it extremely well, with the boat following the whale for around 45 minutes as it surfaced for a few minutes, then dived for 15 before reappearing. At one point it surfaced right next to us, giving absolutely unbelievable views of a quite incredible animal.

Since the tour was only two hours in the deep water, after a while with the Blue Whale we switched targets, and sure enough quickly found a surfacing Sperm Whale. After a deep dive, the Sperm Whale was resting at the surface, so we were able to watch it for some time, before it turned and dived, bringing its tail right out of the water for us to see. This was the species I had thought we would see, and we got phenomenal views. Add in the incredible surprise of Blue Whale and it was an incredible whale watching experience. There were just a few seabirds on offer, but it was nice to see some Bullers Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels.

The tour finished at 16:45 at which point I had a three hour drive down to a campsite at Lake Ellesmere where I wanted to spend the night. Additionally, some NZ birders on the Albatross Encounter had given me a location for Black-fronted Dotterel behind a MacDonalds just north of Christchurch. Since it was such a short detour I made a stop as I passed, and to my surprise the third bird I looked at was indeed a very nice Black-fronted Dotterel, sitting on the near shore of one of the lagoons. Thrilled with that result, I continued south ecstatic with how the day had gone, ready to throw myself into one final days birding. 

-Blue Whale

-Sperm Whale

-Dusky Dolphin

New Zealand; Day 18 - Kaikoura

  I had two days in the small town of Kaikoura to enjoy one of the best seabird locations in the world, with a couple of trips planned out to sea as well as plenty of time watching from headlands, where I hoped to use what I learned while out at sea from shore. Filled with excitement, I got up at first light and headed to the Kaikoura headland and was there to witness the throngs of seabirds flying past. It was quite the spectacle, but I could see why this was the case, and that was the dramatic seastate. For that reason it was not a surprise when I received a text message from my Whale Watching Trip in the afternoon that it had been cancelled. This was a sad development, as I could see all the birds passing by, but there was nothing I could do apart from reschedule for tomorrow and hope for the best.

  Despite this, I still enjoyed a brilliant few hours birding from the headland, with new birds for me in the form of Huttons Shearwater and Bullers Shearwater. But that was just the birds I could identify that were new, with throngs of Albatrosses passing by, Giant Petrels close in shore and black petrels that could be either White-chinned Petrels or Westlands Petrels. Despite not being able to identify many of the birds, it was certainly a spectacle to witness.

  By late morning things had slowed a little, so I headed south along the coast to Goose Bay in order to try to find Dusky Dolphin. On the way, just at the north end of the bay I could see masses of birds feeding offshore, which on closer inspection were mostly Silver Gulls and White-fronted Terns. However, all this excitement made me think that Dolphins could be in the area, and sure enough so it transpired, with a pod of around 30 Dusky Dolphins soon making an appearance. They were a lot of fun, frequently jumping out of the water but always distant. In the end, they moved further away, but I had got brilliant views through the scope.

  Satisfied with my day, I headed back to my campsite mid-afternoon on the way checking a few of the river mouths in the area for anything interesting. The first, the Kahutara River Mouth had plenty of birds, but nothing super different. The highlight was probably a group of close Pied Stilts feeding, or a family of Californian Quails I flushed when I pulled into the car park. The next river mouth, the Kowhai, had much fewer birds but a good number of Black-fronted Terns roosting on the shingle. I was able to creep very close to some of these birds, including a very tidy juvenile bird.

  In the evening, after a nap, I headed back to the headland for some evenings Seawatching. By now the wind had dropped and so there were fewer birds passing. Still I was able to pick up some more bits, including my first Cape Petrel, a species I had been looking for throughout the whole trip but not managed to spot until now. With winds forecast to drop tomorrow, fingers crossed I can make it out on a boat and get closer to some of these awesome species. 

-New Zealand Fur Seal

-Dusky Dolphin

Species List:
Kaikoura: Canada Goose, Paradise Shelduck, Mallard, California Quail, Feral Pigeon, Pied Stilt, South Island Oystercatcher, Variable Oystercatcher, Masked Lapwing, Double-banded Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Parasitic Jaeger, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Black-fronted Tern, White-fronted Tern, Northern Royal Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross, Shy Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Cape Petrel, Buller's Shearwater, Hutton's Shearwater, Australasian Gannet, Little Pied Cormorant, Spotted Shag, Australian Pied Cormorant, Pacific Reef Heron, White-faced Heron, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, Eurasian Skylark, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, 

New Zealand; Day 17 - Lake Ellesmere

  Having reached Dunedin the previous night, I still had a long drive ahead of me to get to the areas I wanted to today. As such, I left Dunedin quite early, at around 07:30 and began the long drive north. The road, the number one highway, is a single lane for the most part and it only passes through flat, dry agricultural land with very little going on and almost no native vegetation. It truly was a bleak landscape.

  At midday I finally reached my first destination, a bird hide on the south side of Lake Ellesmere known as Hart’s Creek. It was quite amazing to find that the bird hide had apparently been removed, leaving just a small platform that only barely peeked over the reedbed into the lake beyond. Still, I spent an hour birding here and had a few nice bits, including another Sacred Kingfisher, a flyover Spoonbill and some very confiding New Zealand Fantails. I tried playback for some crake species, and heard two calls from Spotless Crake, but alas I could not see the bird.

  Just a little up the road, on the north side of Lake Ellesmere 20 minutes away, was a good spot to try to find Wrybill, my last main target species for my itinerary here. It was still early afternoon so decided to try explore. It took a short while to work out the area, but walking down to the shoreline I spotted a group of 52 roosting Wrybill in the vegetation. Having missed out on them at Lake Pukaki and the Tawai Estuary, this was a huge relief.

  By crawling, I was able to get very close to the birds and was very happy with my encounter. They did not flush at all, preferring to comically hop away on just one leg. Sometimes though they would just sit and carry on preening. It was extremely windy so presumably, they didn't want to move around too much. In the middle of the flock I also had a very nice summer plumaged Red-necked Stint, which was not nearly as confiding and quickly ran off into the short grass when I tried to approach.

  Wrapped up just before 15:00, I set off from Lake Ellesmere north, with three more hours driving ahead of me to reach the coastal town of Kaikoura. This destination is extremely popular with tourists trying to see Whales and Dolphins, as well as seabirds, so it promises to be an exciting couple of days. Although I arrived at 18:00, I was exhausted and rain quickly followed my arrival. Consequently, I ate some dinner then headed straight to the tent.

-Yellow Admiral

Species List:
Harts Creek: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Black Swan, Paradise Shelduck, Australasian Shoveler, Mallard, New Zealand Scaup, Australasian Swamphen, Pied Stilt, Kelp Gull, Little Pied Cormorant, Royal Spoonbill, Swamp Harrier, Sacred Kingfisher, Grey Gerygone, Australian Magpie, New Zealand Fantail, Welcome Swallow, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, Eurasian Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch,
Embankment Road: Black Swan, Grey Teal, Pied Stilt, South Island Oystercatcher, Double-banded Plover, Wrybill, Red-necked Stint, Kelp Gull, Royal Spoonbill, Australian Magpie, Eurasian Skylark, Welcome Swallow, Common Starling, Yellowhammer, 

New Zealand; Day 16 - Bluff Shark Experience & Otago Peninsula

  After Saturdays disappointment with the Great White Sharks, the previous day I had left and then returned to the town of Bluff to give it another attempt, thanks to the companies ‘no shark free return’ policy. Sadly the day did not start well, with heavy rain and winds making it difficult to sleep overnight in the tent, followed by the challenge of taking down a soggy tent at 06:00 in the morning, while the wind and rain continued to lash around you.

  Then I discovered that no sharks had been seen on Sunday, which meant Saturdays brief individuals were the last sharks seen by the company. Not a good omen to begin the day with. Nevertheless the days clients all boarded the vessel and set out across the Foveaux Strait. The crossing was extremely rough, with strong winds and high waves making it quite unpleasant; many people came down with seasickness. The increased winds meant many more birds, but the bouncing boat made identifying them a nightmare. Of interest, I was able to pick out a Cook’s Petrel and a nice surprise with a Grey-backed Storm-Petrel, which got up off the sea in front of us clearly showing its grey rump, before darting off over the waves.

  Once we arrived in the area for the sharks, the island offered some shelter and the sea was less dramatic. The rain finally had stopped and we set about waiting for a shark. Fortunately, after delaying my itinerary by a couple of days, we did not have to wait super long. Frustratingly the first shark came during the training of the new divers, which meant I was the last person in the cage to see it, having already done my diving instruction on Saturday. It was a tense wait, hoping that the shark would linger, but it all worked out nicely, as the animal was still around when I entered, finally easing all my worries leading up to the event.

  For the next two and a half hours, the boat was entertained by no less than three different Great White Sharks. The largest, and first individual, was a very impressive 3.4 metres long, with the other two being slightly smaller, probably around 3.1 metres long. They were quite chilled out circling the boat and swimming around the cage, only occasionally making a move for the decoys that were there. In total I entered the cage three times to observe the sharks, probably totally about 50 minutes cumulatively, before the cold determined that our day on the sea would be concluded.

  Whilst in the cage the sharks approached close multiple times, allowing us to see all the detail on the animals as they passed. It was incredible that you could watch a shark swim past you and out of sight, only for another to then appear just a matter of seconds later beneath you, or emerging from the gloom. After the disappointment of Saturday, to get to witness three different animals for such prolonged periods was a real pleasure.

  The journey back was even rougher than the journey going out, with the sea hurling the boat around. It was impossible to try and do any birding in these conditions, with a flyby adult Australasian Gannet being the only thing of note that it was possible to identify without using binoculars. The fact that the sharks performed so well in the morning, coupled with the forecast of gale-force winds in the afternoon, meant that we returned to shore quite quickly after lunch, and this gave me the time I needed to head back to Dunedin, to stay a final night with Ben and Hannah.

  Once on the road, I realised I would have a small amount of time in Dunedin before dark, so I decided to drive out to the Otago Penninsula and look at the North Royal Albatross colony there. The birds can be seen from the car park, without entering the colony itself, so that is what I decided to do. In the hour I spent there, I saw at least two birds regularly flying over the colony, and sometimes even directly over the car park, in the early evening gloom. It was a very pleasant final hour, with a nice bonus species of Northern Giant Petrel sat on the sea, and of course a Royal Spoonbill flying south for good measure.

  Although an exhausting day, it was extremely productive and enjoyable, with the trips number one target finally seen at the second time of asking. What a brilliant day out, an excellent way to kick off the final week in New Zealand. 

-Great White Shark

Species List:
Bluff Shark Experience: Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, Black-fronted Tern, White-fronted Tern, Little Penguin, Buller's Albatross, Shy Albatross, Grey-backed Storm Petrel, Cook's Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, Common Diving Petrel, Australasian Gannet,
Taiaroa Head: Feral Pigeon, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Northern Royal Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Spotted Shag, Otago Shag, Royal Spoonbill, Welcome Swallow, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, 

New Zealand; Day 15 - Bluff & Awarua Bay

  After the unfortunate shark development the previous day, today would mostly be spent driving; first from the town of Bluff back to Dunedin, with Ben and Hannah, before I then said my farewells and drove myself back down to Bluff to be ready for the next days shark reattempt. Sadly this meant little time for birding, and I finally arrived back in Bluff at around 18:00, having left at 11:00.

  Still, because I arrived back in a reasonable time, I decided to have a short couple of hours birding the Tiawi Estuary again, but this time the north side of the estuary, birding specifically the northeast corner to see what waders I could find on the mud there. There was not too much difference, but five Royal Spoonbills were nice and there was a pleasant surprise with a nearly summer plumage Pacific Golden Plover. And there was a new bird for me here as well, as I finally got to grips with the Sacred Kingfisher, and its New Zealand endemic subspecies, with an individual perching very nicely on the wires above the road.

  So despite the long day and long drive, it came good in the end with a few nice birds seen and being ideally placed for the following days repeat attempt to see Great White Shark.

Species List:
Awarua Bay: Canada Goose, Black Swan, Mallard, South Island Oystercatcher, Variable Oystercatcher, Pacific Golden Plover, Masked Lapwing, Double-banded Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Foveaux Shag, White-faced Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Swamp Harrier, Sacred Kingfisher, Grey Gerygone, Australian Magpie, New Zealand Fantail, Eurasian Skylark, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, New Zealand Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, 

New Zealand; Day 14 - Bluff Shark Experience

  Today was scheduled to be not only the highlight of the trip, but probably the highlight of the year. Today was the day that we would go out with the Bluff Shark Experience to see and cage-dive with Great White Sharks. We awoke early, arrived at the office at 06:45, took the boat across to the area where we were spending the day, did the training with the equipment and then spent around six hours waiting. Maddeningly a shark was seen by the experienced divers while we were doing our training, but sadly it moved off pretty quick and it was not seen again, resulting in a sharkless day for us. To really rub salt in the wounds, I was seasick for the first time ever, hurling vomit over the side of the boat as soon as I put on the wetsuit. Not ideal conditions at all. 

  It was not a complete loss however, as the weather was glorious and there were some birds to be seen. The boat across had plenty of Common Diving Petrels and Little Penguins, as well as my first Pterodroma of the trip and a lifer for me in the form of Cooks Petrel, of which three flew past. While waiting for the shark we had a nice close Shy Albatross entertain us, offering incredible views as it tried to dabble for the chum. And from the shark cage, it was possible to see all varieties of different fish. 

  Fortunately the company offers a 365-day return voucher for those who don’t see sharks, and as such I rebooked to try again on Monday, hopefully with a little more success this time around. 

Species List:
Bluff Shark Experience: Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, Black-fronted Tern, White-fronted Tern, Little Penguin, Shy Albatross, Cook's Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, Common Diving Petrel, Spotted Shag, Foveaux Shag, 

New Zealand; Day 13 - Stewart Island

  Since we had been so successful on Stewart Island there was nothing to target for this final morning. Still, I wanted to try and see the Fiordland Penguins out of the water, so I decided to try again early morning for the birds supposedly moulting in one of the small coves near Oban. Despite this, I was still not able to see any birds, and when we left the island on the ferry, my first real chance to look properly into the cave, it looked like there were no birds in there. It looked like they had finished their moult and dispersed. Still, it was nice to be out and about on the island early morning, with Tui and New Zealand Pigeon both being very common and conspicuous.

  For the rest of the morning, exhausted from my recent hikes, we relaxed around Oban before taking the ferry back across to the mainland. Before boarding the ferry, we found a fledgling Tui sat by the side of the road, so carefully moved it up into the bushes, where it continued to be attended by the adults. The ferry journey was choppier than last time, and there was a noticeable increase in overall number of birds. Most of the birds were Sooty Shearwaters, which numbered in excess of 100 individuals. Common Diving Petrel was also quite common, with at least 20 individuals seen. However, overall diversity was much lower and the albatross count was well reduced, although a Bullers Albatross flying close was a nice bonus.

  In the afternoon and evening we relaxed in our AirBnB in Bluff, in preparation for another long day out tomorrow. 

Species List:
Stewart Island Ferry: New Zealand Pigeon, Variable Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Little Penguin, Buller's Albatross, Shy Albatross, Sooty Shearwater, Common Diving Petrel, Spotted Shag, Foveaux Shag, Welcome Swallow,