Played another birding card and got the family up and moving before 9:00. We were headed towards one of the big tourist attractions of NZ, Milford Sound. Of course, being a birder I wasn't looking at the scenery, rather looking for a bird up in the mountains on the way in, the Rockwren, one of my main targets for the trip.
Getting up early didn't help, as it was raining when we got there, and the chance of finding a thornbill-sized bird in a boulder field while you can't hear it's high pitched call is pretty slim... I did meet another birder there, Angus from
Down at Milford Sound, I ticked NEW ZEALAND BELLBIRD and year ticked Variable Oystercatcher. Angus left before us to try for Rockwren again. We headed back up into the mountains after 30 minutes or so, and I ticked another target, the KEA.
Back at the Rockwren site, it had stopped raining, but I couldn't see Angus so I went off in search of the bird. After 10 minutes I heard a single high-pitched tweet. I strained my ears and after a few seconds heard it again. I scrambled over rocks towards the call ad found Angus packing away his camera, then pointing to a rock, from under which a stunning ROCKWREN appeared! While admiring its beauty, the male came out and immediately all my attention was diverted. In Angus's words "like a little pitta". So true!
Angus went off to where I said the Yellowheads were, and I decided to try my luck at seeing a Blue Duck. After 30 minutes of driving along beside rapids, trying to spot a blue-grey duck among blue-grey stones I gave up, although an obliging pair of Paradise Shelducks showed well. The rest of the day was spent driving.
Female Rockwren
Kea
Male Rockwren
Paradise Shelduck
Rockwren Habitat
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