Birds of New Zealand: Tiritiri Matanga

This is a companion to my Bird of the Day blog, which focuses on birds I have seen in Victoria, Canada.

When my husband and I started planning a trip to New Zealand, I was delighted to read about the large number of unique birds that reside there. Having exhausted the supply of new birds at home, this was a welcome opportunity to continue my birding education. This blog will cover the various birding sites on the North and South Islands and (hopefully) the multitude of birds we encounter there.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Tiritiri Matanga

Today, we took an early ferry from Auckland to Tiritiri Matanga, an island bird sanctuary. Unlike the other islands around Auckland, this one is non-volcanic. It is lush with tropical plants, having been reforested in an effort to allow endangered species of native birds to flourish. It certainly seems to have been a successful undertaking. I didn't see all 78 species of birds reported to be on the island but I did see a fair number.

We opted for a guided tour to begin our exploration of the island. This turned out to be a wise decision as the guide (and the other visitors) were able to identify the many exotic birds we encountered. Here are a few of them.