The reef heron, Egretta sacra, is found in tropical parts of eastern Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Because it prefers the tropics, members of the New Zealand population of 300-500 birds is more often seen in the north of the North Island, although they do venture down south. There are two morphs of the reef heron, a dark morph like this one photographed at Motuareronui / Adele Island in the Abel Tasman National Park, and a light morph that is completely white. The New Zealand population is made up of dark morphs, and there is only one recorded sighting of a light morph in New Zealand, from the Avon-Heathcote Estuary in Christchurch, back in 1987. Reef herons are slightly smaller than the more common white-faced herons.
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abel tasman,
adele island,
reef heron
This weka (Gallirallus australis australis) was near the snowline on the track going up to Mt Arthur hut.
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flightless,
kahurangi,
mt arthur,
weka
This black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) was one of a flock swooping around the Motueka River bridge feeding on flying insects. Black-fronted terns are regarded as primarily a species of the eastern and southern coasts of the South Island, breeding on braided rivers, then moving to the coast outside of the breeding season. The Motueka and Buller River populations are regarded as outliers.
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black-fronted tern,
motueka river
This tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae) looks like he’s spent a lot of time slicking his hair back into a pompadour that’s kind of fallen flat. Nothing flat about a tūī’s voice, though. Their bell-like song makes them one of New Zealand’s most popular birds.
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tui
The pūkeko (Porphyrio melanotus melanotus) is common in the southwest Pacific and in Australia, they’re called the Australasian swamphen. The genus name, Porphyrio, is Latin for purple, and Porphyrio melanotus is regarded as a member of the “Purple swamphen complex”, a half a dozen similar that are found in southern Europe, Africa and Asia. They’re all about chicken-sized, with the chunky beak and red frontal shield of this guy and are, by and large, more blue than purple. Before anyone goes thinking too much down the chicken path, bear in mind that the traditional recipe is to cook them in a pot of water with a gumboot for several days before discarding the pūkeko and eating the gumboot.
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pukeko
The official status of the South Island tomtit (Petroica macrocephala) is ‘Not Threatened’, which means that its population is relatively large and is either stable or increasing. They’re quiet birds, more likely to be found in forests away from human habitation.
Tagged as:
kahurangi,
tomtit
The silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) first appeared in New Zealand in the 1830s and became more common in the late 1800s. They’re common in Australia, and presumably the first silvereyes in New Zealand were blown across the Tasman in storms. They’re also called wax-eyes and white-eyes, and their Māori name is tauhou, meaning “new arrival”. This silvereye is sitting on a bottlebrush (Callistemon) bush.
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silvereye
Riflemen (Acanthisitta chloris) nest in cavities such as tree and rock crevices, but they’ll also use nesting boxes, if provided. This is the female rifleman, pulling something out of the nest? Males do most of the nest building work, and the pair share in incubating the eggs.
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kahurangi,
rifleman
On the main road going towards Takaka, you might catch a glipse of this old place.
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takaka
It’s more usual to see white-faced herons (Egretta novaehollandiae) in parks and paddocks after rain or on the estuary looking for food. In this photo taken during the summer, this young heron is checking out the local landscape from the very top of a tall tree. The lack of a white face gives away its juvenile status.
Tagged as:
white-faced heron
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