Also live shot from back door, at same time.
Local names, "Kahu" or "Hawk".
Australian name, Swamp Harrier.
Circus approximans.
#NZBirds #twitchers #ornithology #hawk
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Hey there #nzbirds team - anybody know where we could find a schematic for a kākā nesting box like they use in Prince O.W. park in Wellington?
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Have you ever seen a baby weka? It was adorable to stumble across this little guy last weekend on Kāpiti Island - he held up not just us but a whole school group while lounging in the sun.
For more: www.instagram.com/mdaalderphot...
#nzbirds #birds #wildlife #nature #wildlifephotography 🪶
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Whitehead bird, New Zealand
A whitehead / pōpokotea (Mohoua albicilla) on the Highbury Fling track in Wellington, yesterday. We counted at least 20 of these birds - the most we have ever seen in one go.
#nzbirds #whitehead #NewZealand #wellington #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026
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A North Island robin / toutouwai (Petroica longipes), on the Highbury Fling track in Wellington, today. So nice to get out birding again. We submitted our first eBird checklist for this month - it is nice to cross a few more species off our checklists.
#nzbirds #NewZealand #BirdsSeenIn2026
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I'm wearing a pair of jeans that are black with little white roses all over. The inseams are still unsewn as I'm just checking fit.
The back of the jeans. You can see that they're barrel legged. The back crotch is too long in this picture and I've taken 2cm back out (I forgot to account for the waistband when I was adjusting)
A perfectly white seagull with bright red feet and beak peeks out from behind a bottle of tomato sauce and a roll of paper towels. All stand on a weathered wooden table
Wider shot so the last of the chips are visible and the seagull is mid flap behind the paper towels.
My #fibremoodbarbro are on the way and I'm thrilled with the fit, but I shall be making a few amendments to true the top before the waistband goes on.
And, here's our mate the polite seagull who silently makes eyes at us every weekend in the hopes of receiving just one single chip 🥹🍟 #nzbirds
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A barbary dove (Streptopelia risoria) on a prickly perch at Waitārere Beach. I read with interest that the dove has been introduced several times around NZ, but doesn't survive for long in the wild. The population at the beach must have found a suitable niche.
#nzbirds #birdsseenin2026 #NewZealand
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A young female pūtangitangi/Paradise shelduck is on a pier. She's got a coming white head and it looks almost like the colour is draining down her neck (she'll end up with a tidy white/brown line like our Rita and Ngaire.
Same duck, now facing forward
And to the side
Stopped at Dunedin Botanics today and they have some pūtangitangi chickies in moult! Look at this exotic looking young girly. #nzbirds
We also got a hell of a show from Cookie the cockatoo in the aviaries.
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oil painting of a couple of silvereyes
A work-in-progress phone pic of a couple of delightful cuddling silvereye / tauhou (Zosterops lateralis) in an Acer palmatum (Japanese Maple). Still got the detail to do, but this is the big brush work done. Oil on canvas.
#nzbirds #birdsinart #silvereyes #oilpainting #nzartist #NewZealand
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A palomino coloured mallard female dabbling on a pond.
The golden duck with some other normie ducks.
A white marble fountain at the far end of a lawn, against a golden sunrise.
Two rose beds on a lawn. A house stands in the background. The sky has a dramatic sunrise going.
Dear little Goldie Duck is often to be found floating about serenely these days, bless her.
Ted/Rita looking after the rose garden and mirror pond today; Ngaire and Lefty the top pond. And there was a banger sunrise. #nzbirds 🌱🇳🇿 What a ridiculously beautiful place.
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One male (charcoal with chestnut tail) pūtangitangi shelduck
One female pūtangitangi shelduck (chestnut with white head but her chestnut is very dark at present)
A pair (Ngaire and Lefty)
Two girls. One is more chestnut and one is more charcoal but both have pristine white heads.
Okay pūtangitangi dispatches from the park:
- Ted and Rita still hold the mirror pond and rose garden (here's Ted in the roses, Rita in the pond)
- Ngaire and Lefty terrorise the rest of the park. Shortly after this we ran into them at the other end
- gormless Pascale and Loretta
#nzbirds
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Male (charcoal) and female (dark chestnut body, white head) pūtangitangi shelducks dabbling at the edge of a pond, next to some rocks and a bank with a tree overhanging. The light from the sky and overhanging trees are casting reflections on the water around the ducks.
ATTACK DUCK MODE (now they're barreling at speed across the pond. mum Rita is charging with her head down in the water while dad Ted is up high with his head and tail, trumpeting and hollering). Reason being Loretta duck dares to walk down the slope toward the pond. This settles my question about whether she was one of their daughters returned. Defs no.
Ngaire duck (chestnut/white) is in attack duck mode on land, standing up tall and shouting with her bill raised
Little teenager duckling dabbles across the pond. He has a mixture of downy chick fluff and smooth adult plumage
Here are Rita and Ted in the mirror pond.
Ngaire duck in stand-by-your-man mode against some mallards that dared wander near Lefty.
And if you remember our little naughty carpark ducklings hatched New Year's Day... The sole survivor (still naughty, cheeky and cute). #nzbirds
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Goldie, a leucistic mallard, stands on the lawn by a hedge. I actually know nothing about sexing mallards when they're not in breeding plumage but I'm assuming she's a girl as she's wee.
Goldie on the top pond with some other regular brown mallards.
Lefty duck (black with chestnut brown tail) who has a bung leg, but it's much better today than it has been so he's done some rehab.
Loretta duck, charcoal body, chestnut tail, charcoal body (she will end up with the bod feathers turning chestnut once she's done with her first adult moult).
Pūtangitangi power struggles continue and also Goldie is bringing herself out into the light much more now and omg I love to see her so much.
Ted & Rita (Ma & Pa) continue to defend the mirror pond. Ngaire continues to defend Lefty + top pond. Loretta on the dais lawn gets yelled at by both #nzbirds
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5 pūtangitangi ducks are swimming around in a concrete pool that's made by a dam mechanism in the playground (and was definitely supposed to drain overnight lolol, they were pumped)
5 pūtangitangi ducks are swimming around in a concrete pool that's made by a dam mechanism in the playground (and was definitely supposed to drain overnight lolol, they were pumped)
5 pūtangitangi ducks are swimming around in a concrete pool that's made by a dam mechanism in the playground (and was definitely supposed to drain overnight lolol, they were pumped)
5 pūtangitangi ducks are swimming around in a concrete pool that's made by a dam mechanism in the playground (and was definitely supposed to drain overnight lolol, they were pumped)
I'd love to know:
How do the territory struggles work? I'm guessing they have to pair off to be able to claim a patch? Lefty and Ngaire are really working hard to take ownership of a pond.
Here are some pics of the kids last time we saw them together on Monday. #nzbirds
One stayed back an extra day.
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White-faced heron oil painting
"The thought before flight" - finished my white-faced heron at the Hutt Estuary. I ended up lengthening the beak - the trade-off with painting freehand rather than tracing a reference: more freedom, but occasionally some wonky proportions. Oil on stretched canvas.
#nzbirds #birdart #oilpainting
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Travelling through the Marlborough Sounds on the Picton Mailboat Cruise when this kāhu swept past- scanning the water below like it owned the place. One of those moments that makes being on the move feel magic. #NZBirds #Kāhu #MarlboroughSounds #TravelNZ #BirdPhotography #NaturePhotography
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Two pūtangitangi/ Paradise shelducks stand on the edge of a pond, under some trees. One is chestnut with a white head (female) and one is almost all black looking at him from the front.
Two different shelducks. The male is almost entirely black along his sides and I think freshly moulted.
Two Paradise shelducks on the top pond (same pair as the last picture).
Okay I have confirmed pictures of the intruder pūtangitangi!
Pic 1 is our parent ducks. Bless them. Hiding in the quiet corner of the mirror pond.
Pics 2 and 3 are the enemies 😂 Actually at one point a third mature female arrived, I wondered if she was angling to seduce the son. #nzbirds
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Pulled up on the bike and this little Weka strutted out of the bush like he’d been waiting for us. Bold, curious, and completely unbothered — the ultimate South Island greeting.
#NZSouthIsland #BirdLovers #WildlifePhotography #OnTheRoad
#NZBirds #TravelMoments #NaturePhotography
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Today the intruder female and Lefty her limping bf bailed up the parents under the weeping elm. There was a fight! The parents froze stock still to hide and the female went in sniffing and clucking like a chook. Then she ASSAULTED the parent pūtangitangi 😱😱😱😱😨 #nzbirds
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Two pūtangitangi ducks, one chestnut with white head (female) and one black with chestnut and green tail.
Our pūtangitangi parents, pictured, are currently moulting and they can't fly.
I could swear I was counting extra ducks - not all in one place though. And I was right! We've got an intruder couple on Love Island. Plus one extra female on top of that. #nzbirds
These extras are all post moult.
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There was a bit of pūtangitangi drama with our parents this morning. But no drama at all here in the kiddie pool /temporary pond. These guys absolutely live for this dam. Someone left them a good big pond overnight, what a treat for fat little ducks #nzbirds
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A mallard in palomino colouring.
At the park this morning: Goldie my dear special mallard. Bless her heart. She's been lurking down the far end among the watercress but now she's back to her duckling hood stomping ground. #nzbirds
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Two mallard ducklings snuggle into each other. Their mum is behind them in the grass.
A view out down the top pond with the pier in the foreground. There's foliage on both sides.
A stunning peachy pink rose which annoyingly is the only one with no name tag.
Park pics. Our pūtangitangi family has been joined by a new pūtangitangi couple! Well, not joined exactly. They're on opposite sides of the pond.
After we just got home from the park this morning, there was a MEEPOVER as the original whānau of 7 flew overhead. Off on an adventure, no doubt #nzbirds
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Here's one of the Kyles this morning doing wingography. I had to look up little shags because at least one of these guys has a fully white belly. But it seems they have a coupon if different morphs. #nzbirds
I have to admit the little Kyle team have captured my heart somewhat
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A pīwakawaka/fantail is in a low branch of a rhododendron tree. It has a white and black fan tail and a brown/buff body.
A different pīwakawaka on a rhododendron branch with a buff/grey body colouring
Gum tree branches silhouetted against the darkening evening sky. On them are three silhouette cormorants. One is preening.
Pond, darkish evening. In the middle are seven pūtangitangi/ Paradise ducks all dabbling southward.
I've been holding out on you guys with park pictures but here's today and last night. The pīwakawaka have been VERY bold and friendly recently.
Last night I wanted a nosy to see what the critters were up to. pūtangitangi: sleepy flotilla in the middle of the pond. And THREE Kyle kawaupaka! #nzbirds
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And of course my beautiful bird mates #nzbirds
Alt text for these...
- juvenile tūī yells its head off in the harakeke (there are several at this age right now and they follow us and other regulars around the park)
- juvenile pīwakawaka hunts amongst some branches
- juvenile pūtangitangi duck in dam
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