Zig-zagging down South

So far I’ve tripped down the West coast of the South Island as far as Greymouth, hopped across Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch, and then down to the Mackenzie Country in search of some special birds. One thing I love about Aotearoa is how close the mountains and the sea are! It’s been amazing to discover all these different ecosystems in such close proximity – from the wet forests and rugged coastline of the west to the ice-bound peaks of the Southern Alps, rolling tussock-lands and twisted beech forest, to the dry expansive plains and braided rivers of the east coast. Here’s a few birds I’ve met along the way.

Weka! These gorgeous cheeky chickens put up an endless screaming while I camped out at Punakaiki, hiding in the dunes while I was wandering the gravelly beaches looking for penguin-footprints in the sand. I’d like to catch them out on the beach some time, so I’m hoping to see more of them down on Rakiura!

There’s nothing more challenging than tracking Welcome swallows in flight as they feed over water. Except maybe when the water is choppy, and not still and mirror-like! This was a beautiful evening after a long day driving down from the mountains to drop my lens off for a service, and I got to test out the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2 for the weekend. I’ll put together a review of that lens shortly, but this was the first test! And it did pretty well.

Pīpipi are probably our most under-rated forest birds, unlike their flashy mōhua and popokātea cousins! I really enjoyed hanging out with these guys in Arthur’s Pass, enjoying sun-drenched evenings in river-side beech forest.

I’ve met some cheeky characters along the way! Hanging out with kea is a lot of fun – but keep an eye on your belongings! They are curious to a fault and will get into anything left unattended with their very dextrous beaks.