Picton Harbourfront

For two weeks I had been commenting (Jo would say ad nauseum) that we had not seen any Black-billed Gulls. The guide books told us they are common, we were looking in the right places but everywhere we went we only saw Red-billed Gulls (= Silver Gulls) and Black-backed Gulls (= Kelp Gulls). I was beginning to despair that the Black-billed Gull was a myth until after lunch today when we were walking along the Picton harbourfront, we were almost tripping over them...

Black-billed Gull, Picton, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/1000

Black-billed Gull, Picton, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800

There was also a family of Paradise Shelduck seemingly unperturbed as people walked past only metres away from them.

Paradise Shelduck (female), Picton, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 140mm, ISO 400, f/4 1/1000

Paradise Shelduck (male), Picton, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 122.5mm, ISO 400, f/4 1/640

Paradise Shelduck, Picton, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/500

Motuara Island and Queen Charlotte Sound

Motuara Island, at the mouth of Queen Charlotte Sound, is managed as a bird sanctuary by the NZ Department of Conservation. It is accessible by several boat tours. We chose Beachcomber Cruises, which also does the 'mail run' dropping off and picking up walkers doing sections of the Queen Charlotte Track so you spend more time on Queen Charlotte Sound after the pick up at Moruara Island.

Tracker, Beachcomber Cruises, Picton, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm, ISO 400, f/4 1/80

There is a single walking track that winds around the island up to the summit

Motuara Island, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm
ISO 1600, f/8 1/400

affording spectacular views of Queen Charlotte Sound, Cook Strait and the North Island.

View from summit lookout, Motuara Island, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-5, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm
ISO 1600, f/8 1/4000 (stitched panorama)

Two of the three species of birds I really wanted to see were easily found: Saddlebacks could be heard calling almost everywhere along the first half of the track to the summit but were always hidden in dense vegetation so were impossible to photograph. New Zealand Robins, on the other hand, were much easier to see. They displayed the typical assertive behaviour of robins, displaying their whereabouts in full view. The first one we found taking a bath in a small pond by the edge of the track - a bit bedraggled but it cooperated nicely for a portrait.

New Zealand Robin, Motuara Island, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8
ISO 1600, f/2.8 1/200

The next was foraging on the track and allowed me to get very close (not quite as bedraggled but still wet from the rain...).

New Zealand Robin, Motuara Island, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8
ISO 1600, f/2.8 1/800

The third target was the Yellow-crowned Parakeet, several of which I heard chattering to each other high in the trees near the summit but they remained elusive. As I was about to give up and go in search for another location, I tried imitating (poorly) their chatter and almost immediately, one bird flashed past and landed in a dense shrub just next to me. My first instinct was to focus and shoot, not knowing how long I would have...of course, the deep shadow and relatively bright grey background resulted in a distinctly parrotish silhouette but not a great shot.

Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Motuara Island, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/2.8 1/320

I adjusted the exposure 3 stops and clicked off another two frames before the bird flew off, apparently no longer fooled by my feeble imitations of it and its friends. 1/30th of a second is not ideal for hand-holding a long lens but it was the best I could do quickly. These still needed a bit of work in Lightroom but I'm very happy I managed to call the bird in and get a recognisable record of the encounter.

Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Motuara Island, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/2.8 1/30

Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Motuara Island, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/2.8 1/30

We were picked up a after an all too short 90 minutes on the island and took the 'mail run' trip back to Picton dropping off and picking up passengers at several stops along the way. At the first stop at Ship Cove, I spotted several Weka on the beach near the jetty and the skipper said we had a few minutes so I went to investigate.

Photographing Weka, Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
(photo courtesy of Joanne Smissen)

Weka are large rails but they behave more like turnstones, picking up and flipping over pebbles on the beach looking for invertebrates.

Weka, Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/2.8 1/2000

Weka, Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/5.6 1/800

Weka, Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/5.6 1/640

Even the juveniles are adept at rock rolling. 

Weka, Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/5.6 1/1000

Several flocks of Australasian Gannets were seen as we cruised back up Queen Charlotte Sound.

Australasian Gannet, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 800, f/4 1/3200

However, the one species I was really keen to see was the King Shag. There are only a few hundred of these birds remaining and they are only found around Queen Charlotte Sound and some small islands in Cook Strait. I asked the skipper if he knew where any were and his promise to find some was kept. He even stopped the boat for about ten minutes to let me get some shots.

King Shag, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 800, f/4 1/2500

King Shag, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 800, f/4 1/2500

King Shag, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 800, f/4 1/8000

Drive to Farewell Spit

Today we decided to get up to the far north of the South Island and check out the Marlborough wine country, Abel Tasman National Park, Golden Bay and Farewell Spit.

A long day of driving with not much birding but Jo did manage to find a 'field of gulls' just as we were leaving Picton. There was nowhere nearby to park so I dropped Jo off and came back to pick her up a few minutes later. She did well capturing the scene with her pocket compact camera!

Black-backed Gull, Picton, Marlborough NZ
(photos courtesy of Joanne Smissen)

Gulls seem to fill the corvid ecological niche in New Zealand. They are commonly found in agricultural land feeding on pastures and in crops as well as their more traditional and expected locations around the coast.

On the drive around Golden Bay we stopped at Milnthorpe Park, just south of Collingwood, for a look at the sand flats at low tide. There were plenty of birds out at the water's edge but as this was approximately a kilometre away and with storms approaching we opted not to hike out onto the sand flats. The heat haze did make for some interesting long-distance photographs of oystercatchers.

South Island Pied Oystercatcher, Milnthorpe Park, Tasman NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6 1/2000

including another pair of Variable Oystercatchers with chicks.

Variable Oystercatcher, Milnthorpe Park, Tasman NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6 1/1250

Back at the car park, a Song Thrush sat for a few seconds on a well-placed rock.

Song Thrush, Milnthorpe Park, Tasman NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6 1/1000

When we finally made it to Farewell Spit it was foggy and raining so no great views of the spit but I did manage a few shots of the beach in the storm

Farewell Spit, Tasman NZ
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm, ISO 400, f/9 1/640

Farewell Spit, Tasman NZ
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm, ISO 400, f/9 1/800

and my other passion in photography...ambiguous signs...

Farewell Spit, Tasman NZ
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800

The stormy weather did provide some great views as we drove back up the Takaka Valley. For landscape photography, there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad weather-proofing.

Takaka Valley, Tasman NZ
Pentax K-3, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 85 mm, ISO 400, f/8 1/1000

Queen Charlotte Drive

I am a big fan of mussels and, according to the locals, Havelock is the greenlipped mussel capital of the world so we decided the take the opportunity to check out Queen Charlotte Drive and find a place in Havelock for dinner.

Queen Charlotte Drive provides some spectacular views of the Queen Charlotte and Mahau Sounds.

Mahau Sound, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm, f/8 1/200

Havelock, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm, f/8 1/200 (stitched panorama)

Apart from the scenic lookouts, we also stopped at a location near Havelock where we spotted some Variable Oystercatchers on the mudflats and I finally got to see a bird that exemplified this species' name. Most of this species are all black but some have mottled black and white undersides (like this individual) and others are hard to distinguish from the South Island Pied Oystercatcher.

Variable Oystercatcher, near Havelock, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11 1/125

Jo found some New Zealand Pigeons high in the trees across the road.

New Zealand Pigeon, near Havelock, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11 1/125

As we were about to leave, a Tui flew into the flax plant right beside us.

Tui, near Havelock, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11 1/160

...and we did get mussels for dinner in Havelock :-)

Drive to Picton

It was time to leave beautiful Kaikoura and continue north to Picton. It had been suggested, by several fellow travellers we'd met in Kaikoura, that we check out the Ohau Point Seal Colony about 20 minutes drive from Kaikoura and, for once, the advice that 'you can't miss it' was accurate.

New Zealand Fur Seal, Ohau Point, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 100mm, ISO 400 f/5.6 1/2000

A few hundred metres further on, there's a short walk to Ohau Falls where, in winter and spring, the fur seals pups come to 'hang out at the pool'. It was too late in the year for any to be there but waterfalls are always worth a look.

Ohau Falls, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm
ISO 400, f/11 1/8

Ohau Falls, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm
ISO 400, f/11 1/6

A brief pit stop at Kekerengu turned into a longer stay when, on what was intended to be a short walk on the beach, Jo spotted a Double-banded Plover (in NZ they call them Banded Dotterels) among the stones and driftwood. By the time I had retrieved the tripod and longer lens from the car, the bird had returned to its nest. With the 2x extender on the lens, we could take a few shots while keeping a fair distance from the bird.

Double-banded Plover, Kekerengu, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11 1/250

Double-banded Plover, Kekerengu, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11 1/250

The bird's mate arrived back at the beach, landing about 30 metres away from the nest. The nesting bird walked off to meet it.

Double-banded Plover, Kekerengu, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11 1/200

We expected them to swap over nest-minding duty but after a few minutes'  'discussion' (they actually were chattering to each other) the original bird walked back, straight past us

Double-banded Plover, Kekerengu, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor)
ISO 400, f/11 1/160

and returned to its vigil on the nest.

Double-banded Plover, Kekerengu, Canterbury NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11 1/200

Having spent longer than expected here, we decided to take an early lunch (it was approaching midday) at the cafe overlooking the beach but the 'brunch served to 1:00 PM' was inexplicably no longer available so we opted to get back on the road.

Following a late brunch (when we arrived in Picton) we went for a walk at Karaka Point where we managed to find a Grey Warbler singing in the low branches of the trackside vegetation (so close it was difficult to photograph).

Grey Warbler, Karaka Point, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8
ISO 400, f/5.6 1/100

We heard a Chaffinch calling nearby and it took several minutes to locate it in the thick vegetation, eventually finding a 'window' among the leaves and branches to see the bird.

Chaffinch (male), Karaka Point, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8
ISO 400, f/2.8 1/400

Just before we got back to the car park, Jo spotted a male California Quail sunning itself beside the track. Although this bird is introduced to New Zealand, so the locals scoff at them, it was the first time we had seen one so we were quite excited to get such a close look and photograph it...of course we were to see hundreds more in the next few days...

California Quail (male), Karaka Point, Marlborough NZ
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/2.8 1/400