My Rakiura Winter Hibernation
I spent June, July and August at home, the first time in several years, as for past few years I have been guiding overseas.
In late July, Jules left for six weeks in the UK, catching up with friends and family as well as a family wedding. So, it was just me and Nonu, our awesome border collie, at home.
We got into a winter routine of early morning walks, then lunch, and out again in the afternoon. The weather was incredibly changeable, with a 10-day streak of freezing weather, the temperature never really getting above freezing. Sleet, snow, wind, hail, rain, rainbows and sunshine, we had at all, sometimes within the same day.
Stewart Island lived up to its name of the ‘land of the glowing skies’ with some unreal sunrises. Birding wise it was fairly quiet, but one morning we did bump into a family of Stewart Island Weka. When Jules and I first arrived on Stewart Island twenty years ago, Weka was a fairly common sight within the village but in recent years they have all but disappeared. I’m not sure what the reason is, but it was a nice surprise to see a family of three birds feeding on a roadside verge. Ironically, you are more likely to bump into a Kiwi on a walk these days than a Weka.
More than once we encountered Kiwi on our walks. Nonu is Kiwi Avoidance Trained and I have complete faith and trust in him. Other birds seen included Kaka, NZ Pigeon, Red-crowned Parakeets, Brown Creepers, Sacred Kingfisher, Tuis, Bellbirds and NZ Fantails. It wasn’t all birds; we also saw White-tailed Deer; New Zealand Sealions and Bottlenosed Dolphins.
During the really cold snap I provided the local Silvereyes with some sugar water in our garden. It was awesome to witness a flock of 20-plus birds crowded around for a turn to drink the sweet water. Sometimes a Tui or Kaka would show up, much to the annoyance of the smaller Silvereyes.
Sometimes I would take a seat and sit in the garden just photographing the Silvereyes, they are a magic little bird. On one occasion I was fortunately in the right place - a daytime Kiwi was just outside my garden, so I grabbed a few images of this iconic bird!
I spent one very wet and windy day baking (Fruit Cake, Cherry & Coconut Cake, and a large Bread Pudding) not to the same standard as the Great British Bake Off but they seemed to go well with a cuppa!
The month of September arrived, and along with it was the return of Jules. She had been in the UK during the drought and heatwave conditions, so was a little shocked but also happy to be back in the cooler climate of Southern New Zealand.
September also brought with it the first Wrybill trip of the season. Slightly different to the usual format, as the two ladies from New York/New Jersey arrived on to my Island home. They had just spent a few days birding in the North Island with my mate and fellow Wrybill Guide, Dave Howes. The first day I showed them around my Island home, finding Kaka that put on a nice show. We also found Brown Creeper, Tomtit, Grey Warbler and showy Tuis.
That evening I guided them on a Kiwi spotting trip, where we found five birds which all showed really well. We also heard a few more birds calling along with a couple of Morepork. After the trip I dropped the ladies back to their hotel and walked home, where I bumped into another Kiwi just outside our house!
The next morning we hopped onto a water taxi to Ulva Island. En-route we found a pair of Fiordland Crested Penguins, the first of the season for me and lifer for the American ladies. Lucky to see this returning migrant penguin back on its breeding grounds here on Stewart Island. Once at Ulva Island we were straight into forest birding. First up, Red-crowned Parakeets, then South Island Saddlebacks and Yellowheads feeding close together. Awesome to have these sought-after birds on the list quickly.
Next, we saw a small party of Brown Creepers aka Pipipi, then a Stewart Island Weka showed well. Along the trail we found a pair of very showy Stewart Island Robins who seem to love the attention and the cameras. We found a lone Kaka that seemed happy preening in front of us and around the corner was a larger flock of Yellowheads which showed very well. Amongst them were a few Red-Crowned Parakeets. Two smaller Yellow-crowned Parakeets eventually gave themselves up, and then even better views of a pair of Saddleback.
After our morning at Ulva Island, the afternoon would be spent at sea on a half-day pelagic with Aurora Charters and skipper, Nate. We tried Bench Island first in the hope of finding Yellow-eyed Penguin, but drew a blank. I honestly feel it is going to be hard (to impossible) to see these birds in the future, as the population crashes to extinction on the mainland.
A hungry, showy pair of Southern Brown Skuas put on a great display before we headed down to Wreck Reef, where the birds showed up in good numbers: 30-plus Salvin’s Albatross (arguably the most I have seen together away from their breeding grounds on the Bounty Islands); 20-plus Buller’s Albatross (these smaller Alberts always look super dapper with their sharp Yellow upper mandible); a dozen White-capped Albatross; and a pair of young Southern Royal Albatross. A Northern Giant Petrel put in a brief appearance while 20-plus Cape Petrels squabbled and chatted at the rear of the vessel. There was a constant stream of Common Diving Petrels whizzing through. Apart from the occasional Red-billed and Kelp Gull, and White-fronted Tern, that was it. Being early in the season we didn’t see a Sooty Shearwater, which meant we didn’t see other migrants like Cooks or Mottled Petrels. I was at least hoping for a Southern Giant Petrel or Antarctic Fulmar but they didn't materialise either.
As our afternoon pelagic near its end, we tried once more for Yellow-eyed Penguin but came up short again, however we had good looks at the breeding colony of Stewart Island/Foveaux Shags. The heavy rain and strong winds that had been forecast for earlier in the day, arrived as we approached Halfmoon Bay. We all got soaked as we stepped off the Aurora, but we had been super lucky it hadn’t been like this all day. As we left the wharf I spotted a pair of Little Blue Penguins climbing up onto the rocks in plain view - an awesome way to finish off the day.
The awful weather front passed and clear blue skies greeted us the next morning. I waved off the Wrybill clients as they were flying from Stewart Island to Invercargill, then up to Auckland and onto Perth in Western Australia.
A day later Nonu and I bumped into another Kiwi on our morning walk! I have really enjoyed my downtime on my Island home, including the wild weather!
My diary is filling up for the upcoming season, right through until January 2028, but sometimes you realise that home can be as good as anywhere.
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