birding never sleeps: Birding Down Under part 1: arrival (30 November-06 December 2023)

Thursday 30 November. My journey to Christchurch, New Zealand started with a late morning bus from Shoreham into Brighton and from there National Express to Heathrow. My bag was as fuller than its ever been, mostly warm weather gear suitable for long periods on deck in the Subantarctic. With Nick Preston, Paul Noakes and 130+ other guests I was joining the Heritage Expeditions Birding Down Under Cruise (BDU for short). It was something I'd wanted to do for at least 25 years and with John and Doreen Cooper going in 1999 and enjoying it (see https://jfcbirding.blogspot.com/2021/11/sub-antarctic-islands-off-new-zealalnd.html) I penciled it in for after my retirement. The opportunity to go finally arose in 2023.

Saturday 02 December. After two days of travelling Nick and I arrived in Christchurch following uneventful but long flights via Singapore. We picked up a hire car and headed west. As we did so the weather quickly deteriorated and by the time we reached Arthur's Pass it was raining hard. A quick stop at the shop produced 4 Keas but I passed on their rather expensive snack food. We found the start of the Otira Valley Track and I ventured a short distance along it to get the lay of the land. The track was more like a narrow stream and I soon gave up. It was our site for Rock Wren, one of our main targets this time as we'd not seen them our previous visit in 1996. Hoping the weather on the west coast would be better we found it worse. We were booked into a chalet in Greymouth where a Weka greeted us in the grounds. After dumping our bags we were directed to a shop in town, and from there to a nearby chippie. We returned to our chalet but with no let up to the torrential rain decided there would be no point in looking for Great Spotted Kiwis further up the coast (our second of three South Island targets). Two New Zealand Pigeons, 2 South Island Oystercatchers, 2 Masked Lapwing, 30 Kelp Gulls, 2 White-faced Herons, 8 Swamp Harriers and a few introduced European passerines were seen on the journey.

on the way to Arthur's Pass

Kea at Arthur's Pass

Sunday 03 December. It was still raining and with the forecast showing no let up we returned to Arthur's Pass with low expectations. We walked along the Otira Valley Track but just 0.5km in our way was halted where a stream crossing the track had become a torrent. The bush was too thick to find a way around so I very gingerly eased my way in and, as it didn't come much over my knees, across. We continued up the valley and were soon completely soaked. Moisture soon permeated my camera's viewfinder despite it being in a drybag. Nick's phone, in a dry bag within a supposedly waterproof backpack, and my hearing aid packed up. My hearing aid dried out and recovered a couple of days later but Nick's phone (and SIM) never did. The vegetation became stunted and rockfalls and scree slopes appeared on the valley sides. A bridge across the river took us into better looking habitat but the weather was against us and the only birds I encountered were 2 Dunnocks and a Redpoll on our way back. We returned to Greymouth late afternoon but the rain continued through the evening and again we decided against looking for Great Spotted Kiwis. Our two chances were both washouts. Four Paradise Shelduck, 2 New Zealand Pigeons, 3 Wekas, Swamp Harrier, 2 Tuis, Grey Gerygone, Tomtit and a few introduced European passerines were seen at Greymouth and on the journeys to and from Arthur's Pass.

Nick viewing the torrent

further up the valley above the bridge

better looking areas for Rock Wren but not in heavy rain

Monday 04 December. We packed up and left Greymouth before dawn. It was still raining but didn't seem as heavily although that may have been wishful thinking. We returned to the Otira Valley Track, arriving just before 3 Polish birders. They'd seen a pair of Blue Duck with a duckling from a nearby bridge but we decided to press on for Rock Wren although we later felt that was probably a mistake. The rain was easing, the torrent had subsided and was passable without wading and it took under an hour to reach the bridge. A Kea soon after the bridge was an improvement on the previous day but despite improving weather we were struggling. Our friendly Polish birders heard a Rock Wren up on one of the scree slopes but were unable to pin it down, unfortunately its call was too high pitched for Nick or I to hear. An hour or so later one of them had a brief view of a Rock Wren by the river but it immediately disappeared. Nick and I continued searching but were conscious that time was slipping away. We had to leave by mid afternoon to be at Okarito for Ian Cooper's Kiwi Tour that evening. With increasing feelings of dread we kept wandering around. Two of the Poles had gone back and the third came down off a high ridge towards us. He'd seen and photographed a Rock Wren visiting a hole in the rocks on the opposite side of the ridge we'd seen him on. He gave us directions although the final part seemed a bit vague to me. We reckoned we had four hours before we needed to be back at the car and leaving. An hour up to the ridge, an hour there and at a push 90 minutes back to the car, Nick went racing off, his hours in a gym paying off. I followed as best I could but was soon way behind. I was hoping he'd find where the bird was and still be watching it when I arrived but as I got closer it was obvious that he hadn't. He made it up to the ridge in 40 minutes, it took me over an hour. We spent an hour in the area with no success, not helped by not hearing one if it was singing and not being sure precisely where it had been. We returned feeling very dejected. We drove to Whataroa, where I'd booked an Airbnb, and arrived at Ian Cooper's with a few minutes to spare, although just too late for good views of a Fernbird in his front garden. We joined about half a dozen others and were briefed on how he hoped the tour would unfold - teamwork and silence being key for us, having radio tagged birds and a receiver giving him an advantage that would hopefully prove decisive. We were driven into the nearby forest where several pairs territories were crossed by narrow tracks. Ian located several kiwis but most had already crossed the areas he had hoped we might see them. An Okarito Brown Kiwi named Moss hadn't and Ian lined us up on a track it was heading towards. We waited quietly and after 5-10 minutes it quickly crossed the track, illuminated by his red torch beam. Unfortunately it wasn't that close and the sighting was over all too quickly, one of the participants not seeing it at all. Disappointing. We tried two more territories without success and that was it, gone 11pm and we were out of time. We'd been fortunate, although it didn't really feel that way, as the previous two nights had been washouts at Okarito as well as Greymouth and Ian hadn't gone out. They were the two nights that Paul Chapman and Paul Gregory, who we were to team up with on the BDU, had booked. Ten Paradise Shelduck, 2 New Zealand Pigeons, 2 Wekas, 2 Pukakos, 4 South Island Oystercatchers, 4 Masked Lapwing, 2 Swamp Harriers, Kaka, 4 Tuis, Grey Gerygone, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, 2 Welcome Swallows and several introduced European passerines were seen between Arthur's Pass and Okarito.

Kea on the Otira Valley Track

Otira Valley Track, above the bridge, weather starting to improve

high up on the ridge

looking back at the road

the head of the valley

out of time

Tuesday 05 December. We left Whataroa, the Airbnb being a nice place to stay, and drove to Queenstown where we were to join the BDU. We had a few brief stops on the way but failed to recognise our intended stop at Haast Pass until we were some distance past it and too far to return. We arrived in Queenstown, left our bags at the Copthorne Hotel and dropped off the car. Walking back through town a large mural of Queenstown and the surrounding area cruelly featured a large Rock Wren. Mentioning this in a message to Dave Cooper he suggested taking up graffiti! We checked in and were delighted to see Paul already in our room. It had been touch and go whether he would make it following his wife's successful operation a week earlier. This was officially day 1 of the BDU I've no recollection at all about the rest of the day or the Welcome Dinner. Birds seen on our journey to Queenstown were similar to previous days - 6 Paradise Shelduck, 2 New Zealand Pigeons, 3 Pukakos, 3 South Island Oystercatchers, 15 Masked Lapwing, 5 Kelp Gulls, 3 Little Black Cormorants, 3 White-faced Herons, 3 Swamp Harriers, 4 Tuis, 5 New Zealand Bellbirds, Grey Gerygone, 4 New Zealand Fantails, 2 Tomtits, 2 Welcome Swallows, 4 Silvereyes and several introduced European passerines.

New Zealand Bellbird near Haast

near Haast

South Island Tomtit on the way to Haast Pass

Lake Hawea

slight delay for roadworks

approaching Queenstown

Wednesday 06 December. Officially Day 2 of the BDU dawned in Queenstown, over 200km and 3 hours drive from the sea! After a leisurely breakfast and a wander down to the lake we returned to the hotel for an early lunch before being bussed to Bluff. In Queenstown and on the journey to Bluff I saw 6 Paradise Shelduck, 30 Grey Teal, New Zealand Scaup, 2 New Zealand Pigeons, Great Crested Grebe, 3 South Island and 2 Variable Oystercatchers, 2 Masked Lapwing, 10 Red-billed and 40 Black-billed Gulls, 15 White-fronted Terns, a Little Pied and 2 Little Black Cormorants, 5 Swamp Harriers, a poor view of a New Zealand Falcon, 2 Welcome Swallows, 3 Silvereyes and several introduced European passerines. We boarded the Heritage Adventurer, found our cabin (#303), had a lifeboat drill and dinner. We waited for the high tide before we could depart, just before 21:00, seeing 15 Sooty Shearwaters before dark. Day 2 was effectively over before we reached the open sea.