Conference : Birding Community : Discussion forums for the birding community http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding [b]Kea Come of Age[/b], The Westland Kea research project is entering its third breeding season, older, wiser and better prepared. With monitoring continuing in the unique Okarito Reserve and new monitoring in place south of Fox Glacier township we are poised for a solid year. A year which is already in full swing. We have currently got more monitored Kea nests than has ever occurred in lowland forests of New Zealand and for the first time are trialing monitoring cameras at the nest entrance. [b]So for the first time in history we present photographs of Kea at their nest entrances withing this ecosystem[/b]. Kea are well known icons of the alpine region however within the lowland forest are a silent enigma. Proof perhaps that they really are adaptable and perhaps more complex than most New Zealanders realise. We hope to keep you up to date on our exploits as the season progresses. Until then enjoy these very rare images in their world premier direct from this site [img]http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/birding-photo/index.cfm/photo/114/[/img] http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=49&r=1 2010-08-26T14:13:09--12:00 Lowland Kea Research It's the breeding season for the Okarito Kiwi at the moment. One egg has already taken from a pair of birds observed on my trips. The eggs is fertile and viable. Two other birds seem to have settled into their regular breeding burrow - no sign of an egg at present - however, I am keeping an eye out for changing behaiviour. Last night, 4 birds were seen. Both pairs snuffling away to each other, content. As always, Okarito Kiwi Tours success rate in finding and seeing the rarest kiwi in New Zealand remains an impressive 98%. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=55&r=2 2010-08-17T15:40:31--12:00 Breeding Time Hi All I keep detailed records going back 4 yrs in relation to my kiwi tours. Historically, March and April are great times to come out on a kiwi tour. On average I see 2.33 kiwi's per trip in March and 2.5 kiwi per trip in April. To see 0.3 of a kiwi is pretty rare ! Okarito Kiwi Tours http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=52&r=3 2010-03-15T11:41:45--12:00 March - Great time Okarito has seen some spectacular days for viewing birds these past few weeks - from great numbers of white herons and royal spoonbills, to watching the godwits begin to gain their breeding plumage, white fronted terns posing for our cameras, and early morning sunrises that will have you running for your camera. The weather on the West Coast has been predominantly hot and sunny this summer and the relatively low water in the lagoon has had the wading birds in close range throughout most of the days as they are busy feeding. The royal spoonbills are our favorites to watch as they move in groups swishing their bills back and forth. The godwits are busy busy! feeding and getting fatter for their return journey to Alaska where they breed. You can view some of the latest photos on the images section to see what's been happening at Okarito! http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=51&r=4 2010-02-23T15:13:41--12:00 Okarito Happenings The kea (Nestor notabilis) is well known as New Zealand's mountain parrot, and an extremely clever, cheeky national icon. Less well known are how many of these birds are forest dwellers. Okarito Forest has its own lowland kea population. These bird spend their lives in the bush, never going to the mountains and nesting as low as only 100m above sea level. Kea can occasionally be seen around the Okarito lagoon and beach when they come down to feed on the flowering flax flowers (as well as random fly overs!) Local researchers Brent Barret and Franny Cunninghame are currently undertaking a research project on these kea, locating nests, monitoring chicks and in some cases fitting radio transmitters so their movements can be monitored. Kea chicks are vulnerable to possum and stoat predation, and Brent and Franny have unfortunately had a number of grisly finds among the nests they have been monitoring. For some amazing, rarely seen pictures of kea chicks and eggs, check these links, or look in the user photos section of this site. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/birding-photo/index.cfm/photo/95/ http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/birding-photo/index.cfm/photo/94/ http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/birding-photo/index.cfm/photo/93/ http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=49&r=5 2010-01-23T13:37:05--12:00 Lowland Kea Research Greetings and Kia Ora from Okarito Boat Tours! Okarito has been a birder's paradise the past few weeks. We've had some amazing flyovers by a New Zealand brown falcon, and on a recent Okarito Boat Tour, we were treated to a close up view of the falcon with prey in its claws as we drifted up the rainforest waterways. Along with an average of up to 12-16 white herons on the morning trips, groupings of spoonbills and about 30-40 eastern bar tailed godwits, we've also been watching the caspian and white fronted terns, pied stilts and more. It's fantastic to watch all of these waders feeding in their different ways. The white herons are very still and stalk their prey looking very elegant - they don't often miss and can provide some great photos with small silver fish in their bills. The spoonbills feed either alone or in small groups,very active and swish their big paddle shaped bills back and forth to get their food. We've also watched shags with eels almost as big as themselves and kingfishers hunting and diving in the rainforest. We came across a flurry of activity with some fernbirds the other day - we believe a nesting site for this rarely seen wetland birds. In addition, we have had some very keen birders (and ourselves) a bit stumped at some more unusual sitings. One most recently, possibly a juvenile black fronted tern. We're hoping to have confirmation with some photos and we'll keep you posted here! Til then, we do hope you come and join us on one of our diverse trips as we explore Okarito Lagoon - New Zealand's largest unmodified wetland habitat. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=25&r=6 2010-01-21T14:51:36--12:00 What's Happening at Okarito To see a kiwi in the wild is pretty rare, to hear one call is special, to see a kiwi call in the wild is about the rarest thing you could imagine. We have seen 3 kiwi call in last 2 kiwi trips ! http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=48&r=7 2010-01-21T14:40:14--12:00 Kiwi Seen Calling The White Herons and the Royal Spoonbill are spectacular at the moment, new chicks have arrived this week .Remember, if you are wanting to see these birds in thier nesting habitat, the tour leaves from WHATAROA ONLY>. There is NO access from Okarito. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=47&r=8 2010-01-21T13:12:58--12:00 White Heron Sanctuary....Tours from whataroa only!!!! Very Very frustrating. I take limited numbers out into the bush at night. 10 is my absolute maximum. Yesterday, I turned away 14 people wanting to come out on a tour. Of the ten people booked, a birding group of 6 People did not show up ! They had confirmed earlier on in the day and stood waiting at the Bella Vista in Franz waiting for me to pick them up ! No arrangements were made, and we confirmed that the trip starts in Okarito at 7.10. I'd even said 'if you could get here early it would be better' Trip always start in Okarito . My business is build around trust and effort. I still hold onto the concept that I can trust people, I also expect people to put effort into getting to my trips on time and then putting in the effort to make the trips successful. Through one person, I am now forced into taking deposits and being really firm with people about being here at the exact time, or fear losing their place to others on stand-by. My Season is only 4/5 /months long and I have many days lost through poor weather, I can ill afford for 60% of my business to not turn up. The 4 people on my trip were left with a great viewing of BQ twice and a nice call from White Eyes some 50 metres away. The sad thing is that I spent all night looking out for the missing 6, making plans for their arrival in the bush, then, not sleeping the whole night thinking about remedial action. Ian http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=45&r=9 2009-11-25T10:34:14--12:00 Fickle Industry We Are In Hi All It's been a very busy week for myself. Lots of keen people, lots of full trips. Last Night ( Sunday ) in dubious conditions we headed put looking for birds. The rain came at 9.25 making finding kiwi almost impossible. 10.15pm and I found Joeline on the track, we got to see her in great detail. Joeline then decided that now would be a great time to show off. she called while we were watching. One of the Rarest things you will ever see, she tilted her head back and gave us 15 calls. Amazing ! Fancy ( her partner ) then responded within 10 metres. They met up on the track together and started snuffling and nuzzling each other. With great discipline we then left the birds still snuffling and headed out of their territory and the rain fell ! Always a pleasure to take out 8 very keen people in such challenging conditions. Rewards for hard work and patience. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=44&r=10 2009-11-16T10:47:10--12:00 Kiwi Seen Calling The first of the new Heron chicks has arrived, normally this signals the start of them all hatching, so in the next two to three months there will be lots of peeping, chirping and clucking as the parent birds do their best to meet the demands of these hungry little babies. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=42&r=11 2009-11-06T15:57:23--12:00 White Herons in all their splendour! The native wood pigeon or [i]Kereru[/i] is the largest of pigeons and right now, after it has been feasting on the kowhai trees, it looks larger than ever. Check out the latest photos on our photo page for this larger than life wood pigeon balanced precariously on the tiny branches of a nearly completely stripped tree - reaching for those last tender morsels and hanging nearly upside down in the effort! This pigeon was so intent on his food, he paid no attention to me and my camera whatsoever! http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=43&r=12 2009-11-01T14:28:36--12:00 and even more wood pigeons! The White heron(kotuku)and the Royal Spoonbill are nesting at the moment and the first chicks are due any day now. Viewing is spectacular with the plumage on full display...a photographer's dream! The green hooded orchid is in flower on the boardwalk which leads to the viewing hide. See our page on this website for details on how to see these beautiful birds in their nesting habitat. (White Heron Sanctuary Tours) http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=42&r=13 2009-10-29T13:54:27--12:00 White Herons in all their splendour! A walk around Okarito village will almost always reward you with ample bird sightings. We had a pair of wood pigeons so intent on stripping the kowhai tree in our back garden it completely ignored us taking photos. You can seen them, and much more on the photos page. The village also has a couple of pairs of nearly resident Paradise Ducks. As we watched the females recently getting very large, we knew nesting season was not far away. And sure enough, we now see one of the males on his own. Every day he lands just outside our house at about 6 pm and starts calling. Within minutes his partner is there and feeding furiously after spending hours on the nest. She just stays a while then is off again. It won't be long before she introduces her young to the village residents! http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=41&r=14 2009-10-26T14:38:59--12:00 NZ Wood Pigeons October has been a busy month for the Okarito Kiwi Tours. I have only had one trip out of 14 so far without the whole group seeing a kiwi in the wild. Last night something pretty rare happened. We all got to see Beaumont call. It is something that only happens about 3 times a year on my trips. When a kiwi calls they tilt their heads back to get maximum volume, they also walk around in a little circle to aim the calls in all directions - quite a sight. Ian http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=40&r=15 2009-10-23T16:27:46--12:00 Seeing a kwi call Check out this video on the migration of Eastern Bar Tailed Godwits between Alaska and New Zealand, and threats to their stopover feeding habitat in the Yellow Sea. http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/human-impact-godwit-journey-3024434/video http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=39&r=16 2009-09-29T17:33:22--12:00 Bar-Tailed Godwit Migration & Threats A Day at the Beach Festival is the inspiration of Coasters Louis Brown and Guy Ryan. Louis just finished a solo walk from Karamea to Franz Josef - walking along the West Coast and inspiring other West Coasters to engage in educational and fun activities along the way. He arrived in Okarito on Tuesday Sept 23 in great spirits. We met him on the North Beach of Okarito and after a good nights rest he joined a group of local school kids from Franz Josef and interested adults too who took part in A Day at the Beach Festival at Okarito. Sarah Bond from the Department of Conservaiton and Karen Mayhew of the Blue Penguin Trust put on a great slideshow and talk in Donovan's Historic Store in Okarito. As the grey skies cleared to brilliant sunshine, Okarito Boat Tours ferried everyone across the mouth of the Okarito Lagoon to the North Beach. Paula took everyone for a walk up the beach to a hidden cemetery and gave an impromptu talk on the human history of the area. It was great to mix the ecology of this unique environment with the human history and eco-tourism of today in an educational format. Thanks to Louis and Guy for their great festival which has inspired so many others to come out and appreciate the incredible environment we are so fortunate to live in.[img]Insert URL here[/img][img]Insert URL here[/img] For more information and some great photos on the festival visit www.adayatthebeach.org.nz. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=38&r=17 2009-09-25T15:15:25--12:00 A Day at the Beach For more info on the Okarito Kiwi (Rowi)recovery project, check out this website http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz:80/rowi-project/rowi.html http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=37&r=18 2009-09-25T15:10:06--12:00 Okarito Kiwi Recovery Site It's Spring time. An exciting although difficult time for me at present. All the birds at the Upper Pakihi are incubating eggs. Kiwi's can sit on eggs for up to 79 days ! A huge effort ! I will be staying away from this area until the eggs have been taken by DoC. My trips will now be focused on the lower Pakihi Area for a little while. We will be looking for Jim and Beaumont, who have already incubated an egg, which has been uplifted by DoC and taken over to Willowbank to hatch. November is looking like a busy month - plenty of forward bookings for Birding groups and individual birders. Ian Okarito Kiwi Tours http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=36&r=19 2009-09-20T10:12:55--12:00 Spring Kiwi Tours The White herons have started arriving back to their nesting site in the Waitangi roto Nature reserve. tours are available. phone us at 0800523456. http://www.birdingwestcoast.co.nz/birding/forum-birding?forumaction=messages&threadid=35&r=20 2009-09-16T14:20:19--12:00 White herons at Waitangiroto