Welcome to New Birdland

Before humans arrived, New Zealand was a land of the birds. Our only mammals were two species of bat, and even they were airborne. With an extensive coastline and abundance of native bush New Zealand offers a birders paradise.

	Around 17,000 gannets live at Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand's largest mainland colony.
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The stars of New Zealand’s forests

The mischievous kea is our avian clown, although the victims of its behaviour don’t always appreciate the joke. This delightful mountain parrot has a reputation for snooping in unguarded backpacks, stealing walking shoes or removing the rubber from car windscreen wipers and windows.

The plump native wood pigeon, kereru, takes off like a fully-laden vintage transport plane. A rushing of wind can be easily heard from the slow powerful strokes of its wings. The wood pigeon is sometimes drunk and disorderly when under the influence of fermented berries.

At night the call of the morepork, our native owl, fills the forest air. The name morepork and its Maori name, ruru, both stem from the bird’s distinctive double-whistle call.

The star of them all is, of course, the kiwi. This reclusive flightless bird is a rare sight in the wild, but can be seen at zoos and wildlife parks. Darkened ‘kiwi houses’ offer visitors a close view of kiwi behaviour. With hair-like feathers, long whiskers and nostrils at the end of its bill, the kiwi wanders the forest floor to sniff out and probe for insects, worms and grubs.

Hoiho on the Otago Peninsula
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Birds of the coast and sea

The yellow-eyed penguin, hoiho, and its small cousin the ‘little blue’ both get the cute vote from audiences of delighted travellers. As they strut with dignified formality from the sea to their nest ashore, their comical seriousness makes it impossible not to smile. Coastal Otago is the place to enjoy an encounter of the penguin kind.

Otago is also the home of New Zealand’s royal albatross colony, the only mainland breeding colony of royal albatross in the world. The first chick reared in this colony flew in 1938; today the colony has a population of around 140 birds. The sight of a soaring albatross is unforgettable. These birds have a wingspan of up to three metres and swooping speeds of more than 115kph.

Another seabird that’s easy to appreciate is the Australasian gannet. These handsome birds are spectacular divers, plunging into the ocean at high speed to catch squid and small fish. There are viewable gannet colonies at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay and Muriwai near Auckland. Chicks can be seen between November and the end of February.

A great place to discover a multitude of seabirds is Kaikoura. Here it’s possible to see five varieties of albatross, eight types of mollymawk, seven different shearwaters, fourteen types of petrel and four varieties of shag. Local operators run bird watching tours along the spectacular coast.

	Large and beautifully coloured, the native wood pigeon is often seen on forest walks.
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Sanctuaries for our rarest birds

Although nearly a third of New Zealand is preserved in vast parks and forests, some bird species need help to survive. The Department of Conservation runs a network of highly successful sanctuaries that offer predator-free living for birds and easy access for people.

Exceptionally rare birds include the huge, grass-grazing takahe, flightless kakapo parrot, tiny black robin, stitchbird, saddleback and kokako (both wattlebirds). Breeding pairs of these birds have been transferred to offshore island sanctuaries to build up new populations.

For many years, these islands have been 'lifeboats' for our rarest species because they are easier to secure against the threats of introduced predators. Visitors are able to visit Tiritiri Matangi Island off the coast of Auckland, Kapiti Island near Wellington and Ulva Island, which is off Stewart Island. Several mainland sanctuaries are also open to the public, including Karori in Wellington and Mount Bruce near Masterton. In general, rare species have no fear of humans and will happily play within a few metres of your camera.

Birdland is calling

New Zealand's unique birdlife isn’t confined to forests and sanctuaries. Even in the cities you’ll hear the distinctive bell notes and raucous croaks of tui and the ‘peep peep’ of fantails.

So charge your camera and study your ornithology reference books, because New Birdland awaits.