Takahe, Kaka and Albatross

 

We started the day at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a more upscale version of the wildlife sanctuary we visited on the Banks Peninsula.  They have a predator-proof fence and are raising ends geared birds brought in from elsewhere.

Predator proof fence

When you first enter you come across the endangered takahe.  They were very tame and were tottering over to visit us when they heard a gate being opened by their keeper and waddled over to visit him.  

They are a larger and weirder version of the pukeko we saw the other day.

Bird of the Day!

Leo's pretty sure he saw a kiwi disappear under a boardwalk but he didn't know it at the time and thought it might be a rabbit.

We spent hours wandering down the steep hillside trails and then hours climbing up again, admiring the big trees.

They had feeders set up so Leo was able to get a good shot of the ubiquitous New Zealand bellbird which is usually hiding high in the canopy.

New Zealand Bellbird

At another feeder there was a group of about 5 kakas raising a ruckus.

We were excited to see our first tui, a new Zealand endemic (and lifer).  There were lots of them wheezing and grunting wheezing and grunting in the trees but most of the photos looked like this:

But it shows the iridescent feathers

Later we saw a juvenile at a feeder that posed for a better picture.

A pair of South Island robins popped out onto the trail to greet us:

Lifer!

 It turns out they weren't just pleased to see us.  They are after the insects our shuffling feet stir up.

After our hike we lunched in the reserve's very attractive cafe with a great view down the valley.

In the afternoon we drove out to Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula, the site of the only royal albatross colony that's located on an isolated island.  

For $70 you can access the observatory looking over the colony and see the Albatross nests up close.

While we waited for our time slot we wandered around the silver gull colony next door. A bunch of almost mature chicks were waiting around for their parents to bring home lunch.

Here an adult regurgitated fishy material for her chick.  Appetizing!

Our tour consisted of an introductory film about the albatrosses. Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about it since I slept through most of it.  Then they walked us up to the glassed-in observatory.  

Loving couple and their chick

To be honest I was a little disappointed. I expected a crowded colony of hundreds of birds. Instead we got views of about 3-4 nests.  They were pretty amazing though.  Big giant piles of fluff. Think of the fee as a donation to protect the species.

The adults raise their chicks for a full year before maturity.  They said there were about 34 nests currently occupied.

A lifer for us though not the Bird of the Day.-  We have seen the Southern Royal Albatross when we were in Chile.

On our Drive back around the peninsula we stopped to check out a flock of royal spoonbills.

Another cool bird but not a lifer. We've seen these before in Australia.