This was a birding/sightseeing holiday by campervan by David Ferguson and Jo Wayte.
Travel details
Malaysian Airlines from London to Auckland via Kuala Lumpur. Campervan rental from Auckland to Christchurch (Kaui Campervans). Quantas New Zealand from Christchurch to Auckland. Malaysian Airlines from Auckland to London via Kuala Lumpur.
Costs
The Malaysian Airlines flights were a very reasonable £1,130 for the two of us. This included a side trip to Langkawi Island in Malaysia.
New Zealand proved to be an inexpensive country. Diesel was 27p/litre while petrol was not much more. Takeaways were high quality and inexpensive while supermarket food was slightly cheaper than the UK. Campsite site fees varied from nil to full hook-up in a commercial motorcamp at NZ$10 per person.
Books and maps
The field guide used was
Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand by Heather and Robinson, which is excellent. The map used was Nelles 1:1250,00. This was occasionally inadequate. Several large lakes were missing while the area around Lake Ellesmore misses out some major roads.
Day by day
The following account omits almost all the introduced species. It can be taken as read that all or most of Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Dunnock, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Australian Magpie are present at most sites. In agricultural areas they are the only passerines. The names used are those used in Europe and Australia rather than New Zealand as it is likely that, for instance, Purple Swamphen is a more familiar name than Pukeko.
24th November:
On a beautiful sunny day, we collected the campervan from Kaui Campervans with maximum efficiency and drove into Auckland where we promptly got lost. Several hours later we emerged on Highway 1 going north and ended up at our destination, Gulf Harbour at the tip of the Whangaparoea Peninsula. On the way we saw
Kelp Gulls,
Common Mynas,
White-faced Herons and, surprisingly, a
Red-vented Bulbul. On arrival at Gulf Harbour we checked out the ferry times for the crossing to Tiritiri Matangi Island then drove to Shakespear Regional Park which we had passed a few kms back. We met the extremely helpful park ranger who waived the campsite fee seeing as it was our first day in New Zealand. A short walk produced a
NZ Pigeon,
Grey Warblers, a
Peafowl, a pair of
Paradise Shelducks,
Masked Plovers,
Purple Swamphens,
Tui,
Silvereyes, a
Swamp Harrier, a
Caspian Tern, a
NZ Pipit, and a
Sacred Kingfisher. We heard a
California Quail.
25th November:
We took the ferry from Gulf Harbour to Tiritiri Matangi Island. The ferry, operated by Fullers, only runs on Thursdays, Fridays. Saturdays, and Sundays and leaves at 10.30. While we were waiting we saw
White-fronted Terns and
Variable Oystercatchers. The 20 minute crossing did not produce any new birds.
On arrival we were greeted by the wardens who warned us of the dire consequences of bringing in rodents, for we were on one of the New Zealand sanctuary islands where mammalian predators have been removed and native New Zealand birds reintroduced. It is the only one of these islands that is "open" - that is, you do not need a permit to visit.
We opted for a guided tour which was a good move, for Vic Hunter, the guide, proved to be both knowledgeable and entertaining. He was one of the volunteers who have transformed the island from agricultural land that was burnt every year to the tree and bush-covered island that it now is. In the process they planted an amazing 280,000 trees and bushes since it was bought by the government in 1984.
The day was now sunny after a cloudy start as we set off into the bush. The next six hours were one of the highlights of the trip. We began with a bird in a nestbox - if you could call it that. In a small concrete and stone igloo with a glass roof was a
Blue Penguin. Lift off the wooden lid and there it was. Then we found one of the commonest NZ birds - a
Grey Fantail. Then we met a party of
Whiteheads, then
Red-crowned Parakeets, then the first world rarity - a male
Saddleback which was feeding less than 2m away.
An even tamer
Brown Quail (an Oz introduction) was next and then an equally tame
NZ Robin. After that came a
Bellbird then a male
Stitchbird dodging about in the canopy. There were 54 nests of the latter on the island - a tribute to the success of the idea of dotting the island with hummingbird feeders enclosed in wire cages with a mesh too small to allow the competing - and larger -
Tuis and
Bellbirds in. After all this you would expect an anticlimax - but no, what came next was one of the most extraordinary birds I have ever seen, a
Takahe. Later we saw adults with two juveniles which were like Moorhen chicks but the size of footballs.
After eating our sandwiches at the visitor centre, we set off with Vic in search of
Kokakos. We eventually found one which had the amazing habit of bounding through the undergrowth like a tiny kangaroo.
The ferry back was uneventful. We retraced our journey and drove south back through Auckland to Miranda. We checked the blackboard at the visitor centre which showed Grey-tailed Tattler and Far Eastern Curlew as well as commoner birds. We saw many
Bar-tailed Godwits and
Knots, 3
Wrybills,
Pied Stilts and what seemed to be a Pied x Black Stilt. The surprise was
3 Marsh Sandpipers. We overnighted at the free campsite on the beach to the west of the mangroves.
26th November:
The weather was cool and cloudy with a force 3 westerly. We parked by the road and walked to the hide. It was high tide and the birds were close. There were hundreds of
Bar-tailed Godwits,
Knot and
Pied Oystercatchers, a pair of
NZ Dotterels, 2
Wrybills, the 3
Marsh Sandpipers, and a
Red-necked Stint.
White-fronted Terns and 2
Caspian Terns were on the shingle spit while a
Great Cormorant flew past.
We then drove through the Coromandel Forest Park, which seemed to be inaccessible by foot, to the east coast. On the way two
Turkey flew up from the side of the road. We drove up the coast to Whitianga on Mercury Bay which was picturesque but drizzly. On the way we saw an unspecified parakeet and a Pheasant The journey down the coast to our overnight stop at Sapphire Springs campground south of Katikati was uneventful.
27th November:
We saw 4
Eastern Rosellas near the campground before we set off for Rotorua. On the river near Okere Falls, and just by the road, we saw
Black Swan, an
NZ Dabchick, and
NZ Scaups. We then spent the next few hours in Rotorua. From there we drove to Pureora Forest Park passing Lake Whakama where we saw more
NZ Scaups, Grey Ducks,
Grey Teal,
Mallard,
Little Pied Cormorants, an
Australian Shoveler, 2
Black-fronted Terns, 2
Caspian Terns,.and
Great Cormorants. We ended the day at our first "wild" campsite, an area of gravel off the Highway 41 west of Kuratau Junction. From the surrounding scrubby woodland a
Long-tailed Cuckoo called.
28th November:
At the overnight stop 2
Long-tailed Cuckoos were seen and 3 parakeets which were probably
Yellow-crowned Parakeet.
Yellowhammers were everywhere.
After a sunny start it was now raining and the Taraki Falls Trail in Tongariro National Park, which had Fernbirds, only produced a
Dunnock.
After this we walked along the Mangawhero River Walk at Ohakune which produced, as well as the usual
Grey Warblers,
Grey Fantails and
Bellbirds, a
Tomtit.
We spent the night in the campground in Ohakune. We had been given sites for Brown Kiwi and Kaka by the rangers in the DOC office, but the torrential rain put us off trying them.
29th November:
The rain had eased off somewhat and a walk along the Wautonga Falls Trail produced our first
Rifleman - albeit briefly. We then left the national park and the sun promptly appeared. We managed to get somewhat lost on side roads and finished up in the Kawhatau Valley where we spent the night in a layby. There were
Tomtits singing and the first of many
Lesser Redpolls.
30th November:
It was now sunny again. We managed to work out where we were and drove to Ruahine Forest Park. In the distance we could see the snow-capped volcanoes of Tongariro gleaming in the sun. In between was an unusual area of knobbly hills. We walked from the road past Rangiwahia car park to the bridge through some very nice forest. We saw 3 more
Riflemen, a
NZ Pigeon and heard a
Shining Cuckoo. We spent the night in the CL Pemberton Scenic Reserve, a tiny piece of forest by the road. Here
Tuis were common.
1st December:
On the road by our overnight stop was a
NZ Pipit, which I refuse to believe is a Richard's Pipit. It is smaller, slighter, has dark lores, a prominent white supercilium, and is greyish. If anything, it looks most like a Berthelot's Pipit.
We drove down the west coast. At Foxton Beach we saw 2
Caspian, c20
White-fronted Terns,
Bar-tailed Godwits,
Knots,
Pied Oystercatchers and
Masked Plovers. We arrived at Pukerua Bay mid-afternoon where we given hospitality by friends.
2nd December:
After a sunny day it was back to cool and grey. We caught the 09.00 ferry from Wellington to Picton which had been pre-booked for us by our friends. The three hour trip produced 4
Grey-faced Petrels,
50+
Fairy Prions, several
Australian Gannets and about 20
Fluttering Shearwaters. Out in the straits it was very windy. We saw our first
Spotted Shag as we were coming into Picton harbour.
The journey to Kaikoura passed through country that was drier than expected, indeed it looked vaguely like the grassy hills of parts of California. Just north of Kaikoura, on a brief seawatch, we saw hundreds of Hutton's Shearwaters a few hundred metres offshore.
We walked around the headland at Kaikoura. It was dry but windy. The only new birds we saw were 3
Canada Geese and a few
Black-billed Gulls.
There were hundreds of
Hutton's Shearwaters offshore. The NZ fur seals, with their pointed noses, looked rather odd. We got out of the wind by driving to Mt Fynn Forest Park where we found a
California Quail wandering along a track. We spent the night at one of the motorcamps in Kaikoura.
3rd December:
This was to be one of the big days of the holiday. We had booked via the internet a whalewatch in the morning and a pelagic in the afternoon. We drove to the whalewatch place for the 07.30 trip only to find it had been cancelled because of the rough sea. We booked for the same time the next day and went to Oceanwings to see if they were going out. "No problem" they said, so off we went there and then.
The two of us plus a Brit backpacker and the boatman set off into the teeth of the waves in quite a small boat. It was - to put it mildly - a white-knuckle ride. After about 25 minutes, during which time he had to stop once to replace a windshield wiper, we arrived. We were a couple of kms offshore. With the engine switched off it wasn't too bad. The boat was wallowing around but it was feasible to stand up if you held on to something. The boatman lobbed a block of fish tied in rope out of the back and within minutes the birds were arriving from all directions. There were 4 albatrosses -
Wandering,
Royal,
Shy and
Black-browed,
Northern Giant Petrels,
Cape Pigeons,
Westland Petrels, a
White-chinned petrel, a
Bulwer's Shearwater, a
Sooty Shearwater and
Australian Gannets.
The
Wandering Albatross were the tamest, feeding within a few feet of us while a
Cape Pigeon hung in the wind its left wing-tip only two feet from my nose.
The trip was reduced to two hours from its usual three because of the weather, but it was well worth it and is highly recommended.
4th December:
Amazingly, the morning was sunny and warm with just a light breeze. The sea was an almost flat calm. We did the whalewatch as planned and saw 2 male sperm whales and dusky dolphins. This is a slick commercial operation which delivers the goods although it is spoilt by an unrelenting commentary.
Birds seen were
Wandering,
Shy and
Black-browed Albatrosses,
Westland Petrels, a
Buller's Shearwater and a
Cape Pigeon.
We then set off for Arthur's Pass. Just south of Kaikoura we saw our first
Little Black Shag. On the Waimakariri River near Sheffield we saw a
Black-fronted Tern. We finished the day at Craigieburn Picnic site a few kms before Arthur's Pass township. A short walk here produced good views of 4
Riflemen and a
Tomtit.
Lesser Redpolls were abundant, as were the sand flies, of whose notoriety we had been forewarned. They are no joke. The effects of one of the bites I sustained this day lasted for the rest of the holiday.
5th December:
Another sunny day. The Bealy River produced a
Black-fronted Tern,
Grey Ducks and the ubiquitous
Paradise Shelducks. On the Bridalveil Walk we saw 4
Riflemen, a
NZ Robin, a pair of
Tomtits and our first
Brown Creeper.
The Otira Valley Walk, which took us above the tree-line was notable for terrific scenery,
Lesser Redpolls and
Dunnocks. We saw a calling
Kea on the far side of the valley while a call coming from the cliffs above us could have been a Rock Wren. We failed on Blue Duck.
We drove down to the west coast and ended up at the campground by Lake Mahinapua, which was not on our map. It is just north of Ross. Here
Shining Cuckoos were calling.
6th December:
Lake Mahinapua had some promising remnant native forest but we only found the usual
Grey Warblers,
Grey Fantails,
Silvereyes and
Tuis. The lake held a
Black Swan.
At Franz Joseph Glacier, which was shrouded in mist and rain, we heard a
Long-tailed Cuckoo and saw a
Bellbird.
We drove off the main road and down to the coast through the Gillespie Forest, which is on the coast by Fox Glacier. The weather immediately improved. This seemed a very high quality native forest. To my amazement 2
Keas were calling from a tree overhanging the track. Up until then I had assumed Keas were only found on or above the tree-line. We also saw a
NZ Robin. We finished the day at the campground at Lake Paringa. A notice suggested there was
Kaka,
Yellow-crowned Parakeet and
NZ Falcon in the area, but we were unsuccessful with all three. There were, however, sandflies.
7th December:
During the night I heard a Morepork calling. We awoke to rain and decided to leave without exploring the place any further. We drove down the coast as far as we could go, which is Jackson's Bay. The road is now tarmac all the way and is a straightforward drive. The sun had come out and we did the short walk through the trees to the far side of the headland to Ocean Beach.
We saw
NZ Pigeons,
Tuis and a bafflingly nondescript passerine which was probably a juvenile
Grey Warbler. We were too late in the season and too early in the day for Fiordland Crested Penguins.
After this we drove back to Haast and over the pass. We walked along the track from Davis Flat where we saw a
Brown Creeper,
Tomtits and
Bellbirds. I also had a brief glimpse of a
Yellowhead in a tree-top. We spent the night at Cameron Flat Campground.
8th December:
The weather now settled into a period of warm sunny days. The morning began well with a
Kaka flying past. We then did the Davis Flat trail again but there was nothing new. The Blue Pools walk gave us excellent views of another
Rifleman and
Tomtits.
Acting an a tip from a ranger at Haast we decided to change our planned route and go to the Eglinton Valley which is between Te Anau and Milford Sound. There, he said,
Yellowheads and
Kakas were relatively easy to find. There wasn't much in the way of birds on the journey until, fairly close to Te Anua, a roadside pond produced
Pied Stilts, a pair of
NZ Scaup, as well as the more usual
Masked Plovers and
Pied Oystercatchers. We ended the day at one of the motorcamps in Te Anau.
9th December:
We drove along the Eglinton Valley and studied the display at Knobs Flat visitor centre which largely featured Yellowheads. To our surprise, the centre had a dump station which is something to remember if you are in a campervan. Further on, at Mirror Lakes, we found 3
NZ Scaups while at Deer Flat there was a family of
NZ Robins which were so tame that one stood on Jo's foot! We also had good views of
Yellow-crowned Parakeets.
The Mistake/Hut trails also had robins and parakeets. After this we decided on a lazy day and spent the rest of the day at Kiosk Creek which is labelled as a campground but which consisted of a sloping field with a couple of picnic tables surrounded by forest. There are mountains all round and a rippling river. It could be fairly described as idyllic. We were the only people there. Apart from lazing in the sun I occasionally wandered into the forest but found nothing unusual. There were possum traps everywhere - possums are the main reason for the Yellowhead's dwindling numbers. We did see another
Kaka flying across the field and several
Yellow-crowned Parakeets.
The river held a small colony of
Black-fronted Terns and a pair of
Pied Oystercatchers. The perfection of the day was only marred the lack of Yellowheads. Scanning the sky failed to produce any NZ Falcons either.
10th December:
We spent the first few hours of the day in the valley. Gunn Lake produced 8
NZ Scaups - they seemed to be common in South Island - while the nature walk gave us 10+
Yellow-crowned Parakeets, a
Rifleman carrying food, a
Brown Creeper and a
Tomtit.
From there we drove to the coast, passing Redcliff Wetland Reserve which is a number of pools below the road. There was no discernable access and the birds were rather distant. There were about 60 ducks on the water. Most seemed to be
NZ Scaup. The Riverton estuary held about 80
Pied Oystercatchers and 1
Bar-tailed Godwit while the Fortrose Estuary had 300+
Black Swans. At Waipapa Point, where we spent the night, were 10
Spotted Shags,
Variable Oystercatchers, about 30
Turnstones and about 20
Fluttering Shearwaters offshore. As night fell it became very misty.
11th December:
The mist had gone by morning leaving high cloud. The beach gave us a pair of
Banded Dotterels, a
NZ Pipit and more
Turnstones. A Hooker's sea-lion was just offshore eating a fish. We drove east along the coast. The muddy inlet between Slope Point and Curio Bay held
Pied Stilts and
Bar-tailed Godwits. There was a sign to McLean Falls so, as we like waterfalls, we decided to have a look. After 2.5 kms of bendy gravel road, and a 20 minute walk we came to the falls which were quite impressive. However, it is a sad reflection on New Zealand's birds that in this piece of native forest the only native birds we saw were
Grey Warblers,
Silvereyes,
Tuis and
Bellbirds. Further on, the Chaslands Scenic Reserve, like many such reserves, was inaccessible. The large lake just east of the Catlin River bridge and east of the Parakaunui Falls turn held 2
Royal Spoonbills.
We arrived at Nugget Point at 15.45 and we were in the hide by 16.00. The notice board said that the
Yellow-eyed Penguins did not appear until 15.00 so we were hopeful. However, it was 17.05 before the first materialised on the beach. It was joined by another which came in from the sea and they pottered off to their nest site among the scrub at the base of the cliff. While we were waiting and watching several
Stewart Island Shags flew past. We spent the night at Kaka Point campground.
12th December:
The weather, for the first time, became hot. We turned inland from Highway 1 to the Sinclair Wetlands which were well signposted. This is owned by Ducks Unlimited and has facilities for ovenight stays by campervans although we did not stay. There was a pair of
NZ Shovelers on the pond by the centre and about a km along the track through the marsh we found a group of 5
Fernbirds, one of which sang out in the open allowing good views. From there we went back to the coast to Shag Point where there were
Spotted and
Stewart Island Shags and New Zealand fur seals. There is a viewing point for Yellow-eyed Penguins but we were much too early in the day for them. We then went back inland to explore the Mackenzie basin and finished the day at a camping area on the east side of Lake Aviemore. It was well named for the area did look a bit like Speyside.
On the lake were more
NZ Scaups while a familiar form swam past close in a
Great Crested Grebe.
13th December:
We drove along towards Twizel until we met the Ahurihihi River. Here there were large signs which said in effect "Here be Black Stilts" complete with pictures. The river was mostly gravel banks with rivulets running between them.
Banded Plovers were everywhere and we had to walk some distance away to minimise the disturbance. After about 700m I saw a pair of black birds fly in low on the far side of the river. They were indeed
Black Stilts although the view was not the best through the heat haze. There were also
Pied Stilts,
Pied Oystercatchers and
Black-fronted Terns which seemed to be on almost every river.
At Kelland Ponds, just before Twizel, were about 100
NZ Scaups, a
Little Black Shag and 2
Great Cormorants plus more
Black-fronted Terns. We finished the day at Geraldine where we stayed in the motorcamp.
14th December:
It was still hot and sunny. Lake Ellesmere proved difficult viewing with the lack of view points, the glare and heat haze. It was notable for the hundreds of
Black Swans. There were also about 20
NZ Shovelers. The Kaihune Valley Scenic Reserve on the Banks Peninsula offered a short walk through dense forest but produced only the common birds. We spent the night at the motorcamp in Templeton which was just somewhere to stay prior to returning the campervan in Christchurch the following morning.
General comments
New Zealand is a country with often stunning scenery, friendly and helpful people, and unpredictable weather. The land birds are dominated by introductions, but a high proportion of what native land birds there are are pretty special, while there cannot be many places in the world where you can see so many albatrosses at such close quarters.
A surprise was the lack of public access. There are many places labelled "Scenic Area" but most are without footpaths. Long stretches of coast seem to be out of bounds.
Bird list
Great Crested Grebe 1, Lake Aviemore, 12/12/01
New Zealand Dabchick 1, river near Okere Falls, 27/11/00
Wandering Albatross Kaikoura, 3/12/00 & 4/12/00. 3 ssp: Snowy, Antipos Island, Auckland Island
Royal Albatross Kaikoura, 3/12/00. Northern ssp.
Black-browed Albatross Kaikoura, 3 & 4/12/00. NZ ssp.
Shy Albatross Kaikoura, 3 & 4/12/00. 3 ssp: White-crowned, Salvin's, Chatham Island
Buller's Shearwater 1, Kaikoura, 3 & 4/12/00
Sooty Shearwater 1, Kaikoura, 3/12/00
Fluttering Shearwater c20 Cook Strait, 2/12/00
Hutton's Shearwater Abundant Kaikoura
Westland Petrel Several Kaikoura, 3 & 4/12/00
White-chinned Petrel 1, Kaikoura, 3/12/00
Cape Pigeon 3, Kaikoura, 3 & 4/12/00
Northern Giant Petrel 5, Kaikoura 3/12/00
Fairy Prion c50, Cook Strait, 2/12/00
Grey-faced Petrel 4, Cook Strait, 2/12/00
Yellow-eyed Penguin 2, Nugget Point 11/12/00
Blue Penguin In nestboxes, Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00
Australasian Gannet Small numbers off E coast N & S Islands
Great Cormorant Fairly common
Pied Cormorant Common
Little Black Cormorant Several, Kaikoura, 3/12/00; Kellands Ponds, 13/12/00.
Little Pied Cormorant Fairly common
Stewart Island Shag Nugget Point, 11/12/00; Shag Point, 12/12/00
Spotted Shag Common South I.
White-faced Heron Fairly common
Pacific Reef Heron 1, Whitianga, 26/11/00.
Royal Spoonbill 2, lake near Catlins River, 11/12/00
Black Swan Common
Canada Goose 3, Kaikoura, 2/12/00
Paradise Shelduck Common
Mallard Common
Grey Duck Lake Whakama, 27/11/00; Bealy River, 5/12/00
Grey Teal Lake Whakama, 27/11/00
Australasian Shoveler 1, Lake Whakama, 27/11/00; pair, Sinclair Wetlands, 12/12/00; c20 Lake Ellesmere, 14/12/00
New Zealand Scaup Common S Island
Swamp Harrier Common
California Quail 1, Shakespear Regional Park, 24/11/00; 1, Mt Flynn FP 2/12/00
Brown Quail 1, Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00
Pheasant 1, Coromandel FP, 26/11/00
Peafowl 1, Shakespear Regional Park, 24/11/00
Wild Turkey 2, Coromandel FP, 26/11/00
Purple Swamphen Fairly common North Island
Takahe 5 ad + 2 juvs, Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00
Eurasian Coot Common
Pied Oystercatcher Common
Variable Oystercatcher Common
Pied Stilt Locally common
New Zealand Dotterel Pair, Miranda, 26/11/00
Black Stilt Pair, Ahurihihi River, 13/12/00
Banded Dotterel Pair, Waipapa Point; common, Ahurihihi River, 13/12/00
Wrybill 5, Miranda, 25-26/11/00
Ruddy Turnstone Common east coast of South Island
Knot Large flock Miranda, 25-26/11/00
Red-necked Stint 1, Miranda, 26/11/01
Bar-tailed Godwit Large flocks at Miranda & . Small nos elsewhere.
Arctic Skua 1, Kaikoura, 3/12/00
Kelp Gull Very common on coast
Silver Gull Abundant on coast
Black-billed Gull Uncommon South Island
Black-fronted Tern 2, Lake Whakama, 27/11/00. Common on rivers, South Island
Caspian Tern 2, Lake Whakama, 27/11/00; small numbers on E coasts.
White-fronted Tern Common on coast
New Zealand Pigeon Common
Feral Pigeon Common
Kaka 2, Eglinton Valley, 8 & 9/12/00
Kea 1, Arthur's Pass, 5/12/00; 2, Gillespie Forest, 6/12/00
Eastern Rosella 4, near Katikati, 27/11/00
Red-crowned Parakeet Common Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00; 1?, Coromandel FP, 26/11/00.
Yellow-crowned Parakeet Common Eglinton Valley 9-10/12/00
Shining Cuckoo 1, Ruahine FP, 30/11/00; several, Lake Mahinapua, 5/12/00
Long-tailed Cuckoo 2, Pureora FP, 27-28/11/00
Morepork 1 heard, Lake Paringa, 7/12/00
Sacred Kingfisher Fairly common
Rifleman Fairly common in beech forest
Skylark Common
New Zealand Pipit 1, Shakespear RP, 24/11/00; 1 Pemberton SA, 1/12/00; 1 Waipapa Point, 11/12/00
Red-vented Bulbul 1, Auckland, 24/11/00
Dunnock Common
Blackbird Common
Song Thrush Common
Fernbird 5, Sinclair Wetlands, 12/12/00
Whitehead Parties at Tiri Tiri Matangi, 25/11/00
Yellowhead 1, Haast Pass, 7/12/00
Brown Creeper Uncommon native forests of South Island
Grey Warbler Very common
Grey Fantail Common - usually near water
Tomtit Fairly common in wooded areas
New Zealand Robin 1, Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00; common in mountain forests, South I
Silvereye Common
Stitchbird Several, Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00
Bellbird Fairly common
Tui Fairly common in native forest
Yellowhammer Common
Chaffinch Common
Greenfinch Common
Goldfinch Common
Lesser Redpoll Common in mountain areas
House Sparrow Common
Starling Common
Common Myna Common Auckland
Kokako 1, Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00
Saddleback Several, Tiritiri Matangi, 25/11/00
Australian Magpie Common
