Pure Magic in NZ!!
The first 6 photos are all from our time at Lake Taupo. Lorraine and I went for a walk together in a park after someone had told us “there is a tree that often has lots of birds in it!” Well, we wandered around enjoying ourselves (very cloudy day but great temperature) and really could not see any bird life in particular when all of a sudden in the distance I said - I think I see something in a tree in the distance! So off we go - FYI - we call ourselves “ The Nature Detectives”! Hahaha! And sure enough as we struggled to find a spot that would let us see through all kinds of branches and leaves we finally were able to get a good look at this gorgeous Little Shag (Native to NZ and thriving)!
After that success we wandered over by some bushes that had lots of berries and just stood and waited to see if anyone would come flying in for a treat - sure enough this Eurasion Blackbird came flying in!
Then to our left we heard this gorgeous birdsong but could not find the source of such a beautiful song when all of a sudden we spotted this pair singing away! Song Thrush (introduced from Europe in the 1860”s like the Eurasion Blackbird - and also thriving).
As we were slowly walking back I looked to my right and saw two huge black and white birds fly across a field and land in a tree. We made our way quietly and slowly over towards that tree… one flew out of that tree and landed here! Spectacular Australian Magpies (introduced from Australia in the late 1860’s and thriving )! Unfortunately I had exactly the wrong light for a good shot so this ended up the best that I could do. It was a very fun walk in the park!
That evening I set up my tripod and camera on the deck off of our room which gave me a great vantage point just in case any feathered friend decided to land in the tree top next to our deck. I waited and waited as we heard birdsong all around us… when finally…. this gorgeous European Goldfinch landed in the amazing light from the setting sun!
Before I forget to mention this… before we left for our trip I bought the book Birds of New Zealand by Oscar Thomas. I studied it before we left and on the plane and continue to use it as my go-to source for most of this NZ bird information - thank you Oscar!
These next two shots are from our last morning at Lake Taupo - I went out for a short time before breakfast and then on to our next destination. And what a morning… spectacular golden light…. incredibly peaceful…
Now on to Hawk’s Bay… absolutely loved every second of our time here - we spent 4 nights.
Sunrise over the South Pacific… had to wrap my head around seeing the sunrise over the Pacific! :). Absolutely spectacular. I started 2 of my 4 mornings in this location - a beautiful dirt path that brought me to a little knoll with a 360 degree view! Each morning there was a slight breeze while very loud birdsong filled the air as I watched the sky turn all kinds of colors as a thin low fog bank would hover above the Pacific - truly breathtaking…
And this shot was looking 90 degrees from the Pacific looking towards my right. Looking way in the distance it had almost a Grand Canyon feel to it way, way out there…
On this particular morning I heard this very clear, strong call - I kept thinking … am I hearing a pheasant?? Lorraine and I have seen and heard some pheasants in Ashfield but I am no expert on pheasant calls… but I kept thinking it sounded like something in that family of birds. The lighting was just so spectacular and that call was so constant and loud that I picked up all of my gear and slowly made my way towards the sound of the call. I kept thinking - how can I not see this bird?? It just sounded so clear and loud… so I kept slowly making my way towards the repeating sound of the call… The sun was just starting to make its way through some of the trees to my left as I was along a grassy field and the call kept sounding closer and closer. Again I kept thinking, Cheryl, how can you not spot this bird??? I then immediately stopped dead in my tracks - there he was!!!
This utterly spectacular male Common Pheasant standing on a stump in a dream location!!! Nothing common about him!! As quietly as possible I set down my tripod and starting shooting away… I will never ever forget this experience.
He kept calling and whatever female he was trying to attract was absolutely ignoring him. I then crept a little closer and took this shot…
And then I heard whoosh, whoosh, whoosh above me!!! When I say heard whoosh, whoosh, whoosh I cannot tell you how loud that sound was!!! I looked up to see this incredible New Zealand Pigeon land in this spectacular light just above me and to my left!!!
Seriously, can you believe the size of this pigeon??? It is huge!!! These are native to New Zealand and are up to 20 inches from tail to beak!!! I could not believe it!! And just after I was able to fire off 3 shots - off he went again - whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!! I then immediately turned my attention back to the stunning pheasant to get this last shot just before he flew off - way off into the deep grasses…
This is one of those experiences that I am repeatedly reliving as every single thing about that morning was purely magical…