We, the Tinny Tickers, Stephen Sharp, and Mary and I, started our Twitchathon effort at the junction of the Trig and Wilkinson tracks on Kapiti Island at 12:45 pm, where a little earlier a Kaka, a NZ Robin and a pair of Weka had been keen to share our lunches.

As we made our way down to Rangatira we ticked off Stitchbird, Saddleback, Morepork (whose roost site was indicated by the alarm calls of Bellbirds, North Island Robins and Whiteheads), and the more common forest birds, such as North Island Tomtit, Red-crowned Parakeet and Kereru.

Once down on the flat we saw several more species, including Takahe, NZ Pipit, and Variable Oystercatcher. Although we missed out on cuckoos, by the time we left Kapiti at 3 pm we had made a good start, having ticked
off 30 species.

Driving north from Paraparaumu, our tally increased gradually as we spotted common species from the car – House Sparrow, Welcome Swallow, Mallard, Pukeko, etc. First stop was the Otaki Sewage Ponds for Grey Teal and other waterfowl, and we were delighted to also see Black-fronted Dotterel.

Our next destination was the Manawatu Estuary near Foxton for waders. Having arrived about three hours after the high tide, we were left to sight the common and distinctive species from afar, such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Lesser Knot, Wrybill and SIPO. In addition, we had excellent views of flocks of feeding Little Black Shag and Royal Spoonbill, and a Little Tern.

Heading back south, we visited Lake Horowhenua for Australian Coot but ended up with no new species at all. A diversion inland near Otaki into farming country with scattered totaras soon rewarded us with our target, the Eastern Rosella, plus finches. With dusk fast approaching, we searched the ponds and estuary at Waikanae for Banded Dotterel, NZ Scaup and NZ Dabchick; two out of three was OK. Fish and chips at Plimmerton quelled our hunger pangs, then our final search of the day was for a Blue Penguin among the rocks at the water’s edge of Frank Kitts Park, Wellington – luck was with us.

A couple hours sleep, then off to board the Picton ferry for the 1.30 am sailing! Dawn found us at Lake Elterwater hoping to find a coot, but missed again. At Kowhai Bush, near Kaikoura, we soon saw our targets, California Quail, South Island Robin, Brown Creeper and Rifleman.

At Kaikoura there was a strong north-east wind raging, so much so that fur seals were hauled out beside the Peninsula carpark, and hundreds of Hutton’s Shearwaters were flying close to shore. Even though the weather seemed far from ideal for a boat trip, our results on the Oceanwings trip were great, 16 species in total. Three majestic Wandering Albatrosses and a couple of Salvin’s Mollymawks took centre stage, among about 30 squabbling Cape Petrels just off the back of the boat. However, the highlight for me was having a Southern Giant Petrel and a Northern Giant Petrel sitting on the water next to each other close to the boat.

Even though we had nearly an hour to spare on getting off the boat, and searched the lower Kahutara and Kowhai Rivers for Black-billed Gulls and Black-fronted Terns, we failed to increase our tally of 90 species. We then retired to a local café for lunch, very happy with what we had seen, and the fun we had had in the process.

The effort was third time lucky because during two previous attempts the weather thwarted us getting to Kapiti. One hundred species in 24 hours – yes, it’s possible with some preparatory trips and a good dose of luck.

RALPH POWLESLAND
3rd Time Lucky

The following are some brief notes of unusual bird behaviour reported at a recent South Auckland meeting.

AUSTRALASIAN HARRIER:
Wim Houtman recently noted a harrier struggling with a large load, which presumably it was determined to get to the nest to feed juveniles. The hawk appeared to have a juvenile White-faced Heron that was too heavy for it to carry in flight. It would therefore struggle for 10 or 15 metres, then land gasping for breath before struggling a further distance.

NZ KINGFISHER:
Wendy Goad had reported to her a kingfisher which was pirating worms from a Song Thrush. The kingfisher perched on a bush and waited until the Song Thrush had located and extracted an earthworm from the ground, then flew down snatching the worm. The kingfisher would then return to its perch and wait for the thrush to find the next worm. The kingfisher also tried the same tactic on a Blackbird, but the Blackbird fought back and refused to give up its worm, so the kingfisher tried for goldfish in the pond.

STARLING:
Wendy also reported on a pair of Starlings acting territorially towards a canary in a cage. In fine weather the canary was placed in its cage hanging on a large veranda during daylight hours. However in recent times a pair of Starlings have taken exception to this bird appearing within their territory and attacked the canary in the cage. The attacks have been so persistent that the canary is now confined indoors until the Starlings' current nesting efforts have been completed.

DAVID LAWRIE