Aotearoa/New Zealand's avian populations are much diminished since European colonists introduced mammals like the possum, skoat, rat, and feral cat (to be fair, some experts say Maori explorers brought a species of rats to the islands 800+ years ago). These animals have proliferated wildly - having no natural predators of their own - and decimated bird species that often nest on the ground or whose behaviors otherwise make them vulnerable to threats with which they did not evolve.
Nonetheless, the birds we did see were beautiful and many had beautiful songs and wide vocabularies. The endemic Tui was especially fun to watch and listen to. Here's a few more bird photos from Aotearoa.
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| Tui, on the berry hunt |
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| Face Off! Black-backed gull vs. Pied shag |
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| Variable oystercatcher |
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| Variable oystercatcher ... nice eyeliner! |
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| Miromiro/Tomtit with lunch |
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| White-faced heron with epiphyte |
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| Tui in morning song |
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| "You go your way, I'll go mine" - Pied stilts |
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| Pukeko with Easter lilies |
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| Kelp gull (I think ... gulls are so damn hard to identify!) |
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| New Zealand (Sacred) kingfisher - Face-off or begging session? I don't know. |
ooh I love the stilts and the kingfishers (well, I don't want to offend the others, they are cool too). thanks so much and welcome home! Mary Miller
ReplyDeleteI share your love of tuis, but that kingfisher photo is fantastic! -Jim
ReplyDeleteThanks Aaron! Great photos. Yes that Kingfisher shot is really special. Welcome home!
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