Auckland

While out and about around the downtown area and in Devonport, I saw lots of Rock Pigeons, Starlings and House Sparrows, which were familiar to me.  However, I also saw many birds that I couldn't identify on sight. Such was the case with the Common Myna. which is as prevalent here as crows are in Victoria.

More often, the bird's genus was apparent to me but I did not recognize its species. This was the case with the following birds.

Song Thrush

Blackbird

Spotted Dove

Whangateau



On our return from snorkeling at Goat Island north of Auckland, we stopped at a beach near Whangateau. The tide was out and shore birds aplenty were feasting on crustaceans on the tidal flats.


Spur-winged Plover









Pied Oystercatcher



Australasian Pied Stilt



  

Bethells Beach / Muriwai Beach

To the west of Auckland, there is a string of black-sand beaches which are popular with the surfing crowd. Despite previous warnings, I was surprised to find the sand burning hot. Any that slipped into my sandals had to be quickly shaken off; it was quite painful. The birds didn't seem to mind it though.  At Bethells Beach, Red-billed Gulls and White-fronted Terns were enjoying a sunny day at the shore.

Red-billed Gull

White-fronted Tern

The highlight of our day was the Gannet colony at Muriwai Beach.  Hundreds of these birds were spread out over the rocky cliffs. Many of them were quite young, ranging from white balls of fluff to mottled black and white plumage.  The adults were gracefully stunning. They were also quite affectionate, with a lot of neck-rubbing and snuggling going on. It was adorable




Australasian Gannets

 



Adult with baby

 


Gannet colony



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.

North Island Saddleback (Tieke)

Red-crowned Parakeet (Kakariki)






Tui



Pukeko

Female Stitchbird (Hihi)

Male Stitchbird (Hihi)




 


North Island Robin (Toutouwai)



Bellbird (Makomako)








Wood Pigeon (Kereru)

Rangitoto

This morning, we woke up bright and early after spending yesterday recuperating from our 19 hour journey from Victoria to New Zealand. We decided to take a ferry to Rangitoto, one of the small islands off Auckland. Rangatoto is a volcanic island. In fact, it is the most recently active of the 40 volcanoes in the Auckland area.

The island is covered with black volcanic rock and most people who go there make the trek up to the top of the crater. I, however, am not most people. My husband and I chose to walk along the coast trail to the Black-backed (Dominican) Gull breeding ground. I was surprised to learn that there are only three kinds of gulls found in New Zealand. This certainly makes the identification of gulls much easier than what I've experienced in Victoria. The only confusing part seems to be that the young Red-billed Gulls have black bills and the young Black-billed ones have red bills. !!
 

Black-backed Gull

In addition to the gulls, I saw Variable Oystercatchers, Fantails, Shags (also known as Cormorants), a White-faced Heron and a New Zealand Kingfisher to name just a few.



Variable Oystercatcher




North Island Fantail



New Zealand Kingfisher





  




Pied Shag









White-faced Heron