This is a companion to my Bird of the Day blog, which focuses on birds I have seen in Victoria, Canada.

When my husband and I started planning a trip to New Zealand, I was delighted to read about the large number of unique birds that reside there. Having exhausted the supply of new birds at home, this was a welcome opportunity to continue my birding education. This blog will cover the various birding sites on the North and South Islands and (hopefully) the multitude of birds we encounter there.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Otago Peninsula (Day 2)

Although the rain had stopped over night, there were strong southwesterly winds on our second day in Portobello. Fortunately, these are the best conditions for albatross and we were able to see a large number of Northern Royal Albatross in flight. We also saw a nesting site with one adult and a chick. 




On the rocks beneath the Royal Albatrosses, a group of Stewart Island Shags were nesting. On the cliffs around the corner was a nesting ground for Spotted Shags.

Stewart Island Shags

close-up of spots
Spotted Shag
Little Blue Penguin


Later that night, we made our way down to Pilot Beach right next door to watch for Little Blue Penguins. At dusk, the first three came ashore and waddled up the hill to their burrows. After waiting another 10 to 15 minutes, a whole crowd of them appeared and made their way past us up the hill. Unfortunately, it was too dark by that time to get a good look at them although some walked by within feet of where we were sitting. It was also much too dark to take any pictures but I did get a few of some in nesting boxes earlier in the day. 

No comments:

Post a Comment