10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Petrel Paradise Petrel Paradise By Duncan • March 2, 2011 • 4 comments Tweet Share I’ve mentioned before that New Zealand is a great place for enjoying petrels.

New Zealand 212

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 212

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Kaikoura, in New Zealand’s South Island, is arguably the best place in the world to see albatrosses and petrels. And the endemic Hutton’s Shearwater, which only breeds in Kaikoura, will keep you entertained for those few minutes till the albatrosses hit. So yeah, if you want seabirds, you want New Zealand.

Albatross 214

Albatross New Zealand Dolphins Whales 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2011

While I often tease Corey about how many albatrosses we have down here in New Zealand, the fact is that the United States has three species of Albatross that breed within its boundaries, albeit one of them only very rarely, and visit the western shores of North America. It took ages, but it was a constant delight.

Albatross 233

Albatross Hawaii New Zealand Japan 233

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2016

As I said last week , I’ve decided to try and knock off a few of the New Zealand endemics and specialities that I haven’t seen before over the coming year, and the first place that sprung to mind was pretty close, just across the Cook Strait in the Marlborough Sounds. Spotted Shags are endemic to New Zealand.

Charlotte 173

Charlotte New Zealand Fur Seals 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

I’ve written before at length about how New Zealand is pretty much the best place in the world to see petrels of all kinds, so with these guys on the brain it seemed natural to write about them today. They have a circumpolar distribution, breeding in vast numbers in the islands around Antarctica, as well as on Antarctica itself.

New Zealand 182

New Zealand Albatross South Africa Brazil 182

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

South Island’s Westland District is perhaps New Zealand’s best kept secret, a staggeringly beautiful stretch of coastline jammed between the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. Westland Petrels are endemic breeders to New Zealand, and an attractive large black seabird. Birds New Zealand endemics petrels'

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Breeders Albatross Mammals 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2012

If you’ve read my posts before you’d know I’ve written at length about the devastating effects of introduced mammals in New Zealand, and also of the ways that New Zealanders have been working to save their species from those same mammals.

Mice 171

Mice New Zealand Penguins Albatross 171

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2013

I once worked with banders who used to use the ratio of the lengths of the primary projections (or some other voodoo like that) and an alchemical tome known as the Pyle Guide to separate some species. This spoke very clearly to me that people who claim to be able to separate these species in the field were either birding gods or delusional.

New Zealand 200

New Zealand Albatross Breeding Species 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

We recently had a long weekend here in New Zealand and I took the opportunity to, while visiting the lovely wine country of Marlborough, to drop by for a lunchtime visit out to the marine canyon to see what could be seen. This Red-billed Gull is a New Zealand endemic after all! Lots of Cape Pigeons could be seen.

Albatross 204

Albatross New Zealand Fish Breeding 204

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2011

One of only two species in the plover genus Thinornis , the other being Australia’s Hooded Plover , this species is another New Zealand endemic. Until recently the species certainly only hung on to existence on two small islands in that group, but this distribution is an artefact of a long decline.

New Zealand 185

New Zealand Penguins Endangered Species Zoos 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2011

In fact I first saw this species off the ferry to South Island a number of Christmases ago, but these particular beauties were seen on my pelagic trip off Northland. Fairy Prions are probably the most common prion found in New Zealand, and breed from the subAntarctic islands to the south of Stewart Island to Northland.

New Zealand 207

New Zealand Breeding Australia Species 207

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2012

They have more recently been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand, where they are known as the German Owl. As ever, controversy accompanied the introduction and accusations were made against the owl that it was killing native bird species. Occasional birds taken were introduced aliens.

Owls 236

Owls New Zealand Europe Mammals 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).

Alaska 264

Alaska Kenya Georgia Russia 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2024

This seems like a strange – but welcome – turn of events after having failed to see this species several times in the region. I experienced a perfect illustration of this many years ago when I was traveling in New Zealand with my family.

New Zealand 246

New Zealand Rabbits Adoptable Family 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2012

While albatrosses are found year-round on the tours out of Kaikoura, the best season for them is winter and not all species are common year round. One such species is the Black-browed Albatross, which is possible but not guaranteed in December. Be sure to support campaigns to save these magnificent birds.

Albatross 157

Albatross New Zealand 2008 Georgia 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

Of course Africa could not to be left out of the pink weekend so I have researched all African species whose official or alternative names include the word “pink”. Great White Pelicans showing the pink flush of breeding plumage. Another not very pink species is the Pink-footed Puffback. Pink-throated Twinspot.

Africa 252

Africa Somalia Mozambique Pelicans 252

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2016

So let’s celebrate some good news today; Kakapo are having one of their best ever breeding seasons since European settlement. . Endemic to New Zealand, it has been declining since humans arrived but crashed after the arrival of Europeans and the species Europeans introduced. Kakapo are strange birds.

New Zealand 173

New Zealand Parrots Breeding Humane 173

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

This makes it a particularly exciting time in New Zealand as the Rugby World Cup begins in two days, and the competition is being held right here in New Zealand (I would imagine they might be more excited if they hadn’t just lost two matches to Australia and South Africa, their big rivals in the Tri-Nations).

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Fur 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2012

The shorebirds will continue north to their breeding grounds once they have acquired the necessary energy to make the final leg of their trip. The Red Knot are surrounded by other smaller species in Roebuck Bay now, as the Bar-tailed Godwits, Black-tailed Godwits and Great Knots have mainly migrated to breed.

China 227

China New Zealand Australia Asia 227

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

Over the next few days, the Alpine Accentors ( Prunella collaris ) will arrive on their high-Alpine breeding grounds – it is time to start singing, despite that the treeless Alpine landscape is still under metres of snow. all Alpine Accetor photos digiscoped (c) Dale Forbes. all Alpine Accetor photos digiscoped (c) Dale Forbes.

2011 235

2011 Breeders Deer Breeding 235

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2019

In the end, I truly did set out to reduce the number of birds that I feature here from 1302, my years total species, down to 10-12. The Southern Brown Kiwi on Stewart Island, New Zealand, that ran down the path in front of me, was never captured. The first bird in that grouping would be the White-crowned Helmut-shrike.

2018 203

2018 Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2013

Despite their predilection for the watery realm, there are some species of grebes that are long-distance migrants. Larger species like the Western and Clark’s Grebe of western North America, the wide-ranging Great Crested Grebe of Eurasia and the beautiful Giant Grebe of South America, are strong flyers and e xcellent dispersers.

Jordan 250

Jordan Guatemala South America Birds 250

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2016

The beach is in fact named after Captain John Alfred Reddell, who was murdered on 20th October 1899 on board the “Ethel” when he was returning to New Zealand on one of his journeys to transport supplies for the pearl luggers working out of Broome. Standing behind shorebirds an hour after the tide has turned.

Taiwan 178

Taiwan New Zealand Japan Transported 178

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2011

Ruddy Turnstone is a Species of Least Concern according to BirdLife International. It has an enormous range, occurring in such far-flung locales as New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Greenland, and Brazil, to name just a few. It is one of two turnstone species, the other being the Black Turnstone A.

Saudi Arabia 157

Saudi Arabia New Zealand Brazil United States 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

This time I’m not talking about the petrels of New Zealand, but those of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters The commonest of the two shearwater species you can find on the island, this species has burrows all over the place. You can see more Wedge-tailed Shearwater photos here.

Albatross 157

Albatross Hawaii Japan New Zealand 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2013

One of the nice things about living in New Zealand and being the beat writer for that place is that I can pretty much make sure Corey feels jealous of my year list year in year out, regardless of how few birds I have seen and how many he has seen. I was lucky to work with the species on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals.

Albatross 157

Albatross Hawaii North America California 157

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

For one, they are remarkably diverse with a little over 380 species spread over every continent except Europe (only introduced) and Antarctica. Brazil, in particular, is the country with the largest number of parrot species in the world with approximately 84 species. I am a self-proclaimed psittacophile. Most do not.

Parrots 205

Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 205

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2016

I’ve always planned to do a post on this species and always been scared that I’ll probably get some of the pictures wrong. What were three species, Royal Albatross, Wandering Albatross and Amsterdam Albatross , are now seven. So here’s some Antipodean Albatrosses! The mighty Antipodean Albatross.

Albatross 100

Albatross New Zealand Breeding Species 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

But, I did take many photos, and used the book, in spurts during the trip and more closely afterward, to identify three seabird species, two expected (Sooty and Black-vented Shearwaters) and one a surprise. It does not include near-shore, coastal species, like Brown Pelican, Elegant Tern, and Harbor Seal.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Porpoises Whales Whaling 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

Also known as the Flyeater, this tiny bird is the only representative of the Australasian warbler family found in mainland Asia, and very similar to my own Grey Warblers in New Zealand, even their songs. A target bird was next, the Pheasant-tailed Jacana, which was sadly not in breeding plumage but was still attractive.

Thailand 140

Thailand New Zealand Bats Family 140

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2017

This is a bird blog, and my beat is New Zealand, so let me talk about a fish I saw in Australia. In fact, puffers are pretty antisocial, and this species is noted as being that and solitary on the Wikipedia page of the species. I can’t explain it, maybe some kind of breeding aggregation?

Porcupines 100

Porcupines Costa Rica Fish New Zealand 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”. In New Zealand, the Spotted Dove is an introduced species.

Mountain Goats 147

Mountain Goats Singapore Giraffes Birds 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

The name of these terns comes from their utter fearlessness on their breeding grounds, which was sadly taken for foolhardiness. I was lucky enough to have the chance to spend time with four species on French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands , on the aptly named Tern Island. One of these species was the Brown Noddy.

Breeding 100

Breeding Groups Species New Zealand 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2016

I didn’t have long to stay at the reserve so I did a quick walk through the ornamental pools near the entrance – as in many WWT reserves these are given over to the breeding collections of exotic species (although these are smaller in London than elsewhere.

Geese 100

Geese New Zealand Germany Ducks 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2013

Mt Bruce, since you ask, is the Department of Conservation’s premier endangered bird breeding centre. The centre now encompasses native bush into which some of these endangered species have been released. (It Long-finned Eels swam in the rivers, and in their pens the breeding Blue Ducks where whistling away.

New Zealand 203

New Zealand Rats Raised Endangered Species 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

There are few stories in ornithology I enjoy more than those of a Lazarus taxon, a species thought to be extinct being found alive and well in some hidden part of the world. New Zealand has had its share of rediscovered birds too. A blurry photo of the New Zealand Storm-petrel ( Oceanites maorianus, or is it?),

New Zealand 248

New Zealand India 2003 Collecting 248