Feb 1, 2024: Te Anau

As I’ve already mentioned, there are a lot of unique birds here thanks to the lack of endemic mammalian predators. Today we got to see a few (bird photos are mostly from DOC website – you’ll see why when you see the photos I did take!):

Takahē – a large (3kg) ground bird (specifically a rail). They were thought to be extinct until 1948 when a population was found in fjordland. They are at risk because of egg predation and competition for food from deer. There are now back up to 300 individuals. We watched a couple tromp around and eat grass together. (Apparently they eat, and poop, a LOT).

Tui – medium-sized bird with distinctive white neck frills. They are important pollinators of flowering plants and some fruits, and they aggressively defend their territory (even just part of a tree). They are not threatened. We watched them fly, call, swoop, and dive.

Kākā – a chatty, medium-sized parrot. They are endangered because mums and their eggs/chicks are found in ground-nests. We watched Rata open a teapot on a chain looking for treats and dismember a tree cone.

Kākāriki – bright green parakeets. Varies by sub-species, but very rare, only found on islands free of predators, as they are vulnerable during nesting like the Kākā. We watched them hop, eat, fly, and preen.

Fantail / Pīwakawaka – small, fast, insectivorous songbirds who sometimes follow humans down the trail because we stir up the insects they like to eat. We watched them do just that.

Weka – a large flightless rail. Threatened depending on subspecies. We saw one running around with a dead mouse in its bill at our DOC Cascade campsite; it dodged a dive bombing raptor of some kind, and continued on.

Shag – a smaller cormorant-like fish-eater. Seen along Queenstown’s shoreline, in Milford Sound, and getting lots of instagram traffic by perching on #thatwanakatree (yes, that’s me mentioning things from the future because I’m a few days behind with writing this).

New Zealand pigeon / Kererū – large (650g!) pigeon with irridescent plumage and a distinctive white apron. We watched them fly around in the trees up to Marian Lake and around Te Anau.

Our wishlist of birds to see includes:
Penguins (there are several species)
Kea (very smart parrot)
Kiwi
Moa (… womp, womp, they’re extinct, but as Flis points out, people thought the Takahē were, too)

With the oven going less than half strength, roasting potatoes and baking scones took soooo long that our need for entertainment exceeded what Yahtzee and wine could offer. “It Only Thunders When it’s Raining” dance moves to the rescue!

Goodnight,

Alice