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Auldwood Birds Guided bird watching in Canterbury, New Zealand. Tell us what species of birds you want to see and w

The Kōtare - Sacred kingfisher - Todiramphus sanctus, is New Zealand's only native kingfisher.For Auldwood Birds' owner ...
30/03/2025

The Kōtare - Sacred kingfisher - Todiramphus sanctus, is New Zealand's only native kingfisher.

For Auldwood Birds' owner Steve Attwood, these birds are a constant in his landscape, breeding in the hollows in native forest near his home, or in tunnels they have drilled into nearby clay banks. It is hard to imagine any waterway in New Zealand, especially along the coast, without these small, colourful birds.

The Laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), the largest of kingfishers, is also present in New Zealand but it was introduced, and is only present in a naturalised population in part of New Zealand's North Island.

The kea (Nestor notabilis), endemic to New Zealand is the world's only alpine parrot. They are always great fun to photo...
23/03/2025

The kea (Nestor notabilis), endemic to New Zealand is the world's only alpine parrot. They are always great fun to photograph, they have no fear of humans and allow close interactions. Often too close as the juveniles, in particular, are known for their curiosity around human belongings, stripping rubber off car windows, wipers and headlight seals; and raiding food in outdoor restaurants and cafes.

It is nice to get photos of them away from their interactions with humans in a human environment and study them up close int he field.

It is perhaps ironic that New Zealand's largest raptor, the majestic kāhu (swamp harrier - Circus approximans), is also ...
13/03/2025

It is perhaps ironic that New Zealand's largest raptor, the majestic kāhu (swamp harrier - Circus approximans), is also the most timid of New Zealand's bird of prey.
So often, when bird photographers raise their lenses, these large birds shy away, and on the ground they will not tolerate even a distant approach.
I was fortunate today to photograph a kāhu that was less timid and allowed a reasonably close approach as it quartered the scrub fields surrounding the Te Roto o Wairewa (Lake Forsyth) only a few minutes from Auldwood Birds' base.
This is a juvenile bird, as can be told from its dark chocolate brown plumage, white feathers around the nape of the neck and the pale yellow cere.
In Māori mythology, the kāhu is often depicted as a messenger to the gods, and a kāhu flying over a village during a tribal meeting is seen as a good sign. The whakatauki (proverb) "e hui o ngā kāhu" refers to a meeting of Māori chiefs.

A group of juvenile Tarāpuka/ black-billed gull (Chroicocephalus bulleri) at Te Roto o Wairewa/Lake Forsyth, provided so...
08/03/2025

A group of juvenile Tarāpuka/ black-billed gull (Chroicocephalus bulleri) at Te Roto o Wairewa/Lake Forsyth, provided some great viewing today. Endemic to New Zealand, the population of black-billed gull is declining. Until recently they were classed as critically endangered but a better understanding of their population reduced that to "declining". Nevertheless, these NZ-only gulls are declining and under threat.

A juvenile taranui (Caspian tern - Hydroprogne caspia) begs, unsuccessfully, from an adult on the beach at Birdlings Fla...
04/03/2025

A juvenile taranui (Caspian tern - Hydroprogne caspia) begs, unsuccessfully, from an adult on the beach at Birdlings Flat, Canterbury, New Zealand.
A New Zealand native this, the largest of all the terns, has a conservation status of "nationally vulnerable".

Caspian terns are susceptible to nest disturbance by people, their dogs, and off-road vehicles. Southern black-backed gulls and red-billed gulls may attack eggs and chicks following disturbance by people. Like other shore-nesting birds, chicks and eggs are vulnerable to predation by introduced mammalian predators such as cats, stoats and ferrets.

Another of Canterbury, New Zealand's, braided river birds is the beautiful tarapirohe - black-fronted tern - Chlidonias ...
28/02/2025

Another of Canterbury, New Zealand's, braided river birds is the beautiful tarapirohe - black-fronted tern - Chlidonias albostriatus, which has a conservation status of "nationally endangered".

They only breed in the South Island's east coast braided rivers. Being ground nesters, they are particularly vulnerable to introduced mammal pests including rats, cats, stoats and hedgehogs against which they have no inherited instinctive defense.
In pre-human New Zealand, the only predators of these beautiful terns were aerial predators such as harrier, falcon, black-backed gull and herons. Their nests, their eggs, the colours of their chicks and their habit of freezing under threat were great for defending against aerial predators, but not so good when introduced ground-based predators can detect them by smell. Accordingly, their population is declining and this lovely endemic tern is in real danger.

27/02/2025

Canterbury, New Zealand, where Auldwood Birds is based, is famous for its braided rivers (rivers with multiple channels weaving through beds of alluvial shingle).
Many of our endemic birds have evolved for this dynamic, shifting environment, none more so than the Ngutu pare (wrybill - Anarhynchus frontalis), the only bird in the world with a bill that bends laterally (sideways).
The rounded river stones provide spaces underneath for water insects to live and the wrybill's sideways-bending bill has evolved to reach under the stones to seize these tasty morsels. The bird is also the colour of the grey stones, and lays its eggs on the bare stones, lining the shallow scrape in the shingle with . . . you guessed it . . . more stones, selecting tiny pebbles about the size of a small pea. The bluish-grey eggs are laid on top of this bed of stones. There is no lining of sticks or feathers.
The bird in this video is a male, you can tell because he has a fine black line across his forehead above the eyes.

Love is in the air, in the whisper of the treeLove is in the air, in the thunder of the sea . . . Mating tara/white-fro...
20/02/2025

Love is in the air, in the whisper of the tree
Love is in the air, in the thunder of the sea . . . Mating tara/white-fronted tern-Sterna striata.

So . . . this happened. Driving six bird watching clients from Spain. I said, "OK everybody we are in falcon country, ...
13/02/2025

So . . . this happened. Driving six bird watching clients from Spain. I said, "OK everybody we are in falcon country, I'm driving so you have to be my eyes."
Well, "bu**er me" but not too long after one of my guests screams "falcon!" I hit the brakes!
He was dead right. This young bird (a sub adult because it does not have the yellow eye ring and cere of an adult) was sitting atop a big electricity pylon.
I am not sure who was more thrilled, my clients or me!

I was intrigued by the brown colouring on the normally white neck and breast of this Pūteketeke (Australasian Crested Gr...
12/02/2025

I was intrigued by the brown colouring on the normally white neck and breast of this Pūteketeke (Australasian Crested Grebe - (Podiceps cristatus australis) on a lake near Auldwood Birds' base.

Then my brain clicked into gear and I realised it had to be what is known as "staining".

I am used to seeing it on the white parts of little shags (cormorants), not crested grebe. It is caused by exposure to tannin soaked water, usually near the bottom of a water body, where rotting vegetation is broken down releasing the tannin out of the foliage into the water (think your average cup of black tea - same thing.

Poaka - pied stilt - Himantopus himantopus, with a small fish dinner. Photographed at Te Roto O Wairewa/Lake Forsyth, Ca...
11/02/2025

Poaka - pied stilt - Himantopus himantopus, with a small fish dinner. Photographed at Te Roto O Wairewa/Lake Forsyth, Canterbury, New Zealand, one of our regular spots for water and wetland birds.

08/02/2025

Kakaruai (South Island robin - Petroica australis). Filmed on a cellphone, very friendly and confiding birds.

Some more photos of the world's only alpine parrot, the Kea. These are all of a juvenile bird as can be identified by th...
07/02/2025

Some more photos of the world's only alpine parrot, the Kea. These are all of a juvenile bird as can be identified by the yellow cere and lower bill.

Kea, Nestor Notabilis, the world's only alpine parrot. Endemic to New Zealand.
04/02/2025

Kea, Nestor Notabilis, the world's only alpine parrot. Endemic to New Zealand.

Birdlings Flat beach near my home in the late afternoon, early evening is a treasure for bird flight shots as seabirds r...
01/02/2025

Birdlings Flat beach near my home in the late afternoon, early evening is a treasure for bird flight shots as seabirds return to their roosts. The sun is behind you so the light is on the birds and life is good!

Recently we visited Harts Creek , a tributary of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. The light was amazing, the colours of the w...
12/01/2025

Recently we visited Harts Creek , a tributary of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. The light was amazing, the colours of the water changing from deep green to golden depending on whether in the shade or sun, the depth of the water itself, w**d cover and so on.
There were lots of pāpango/New Zealand scaup (Aythya novaeseelandiae) about, a small endemic diving duck.

Tara (white-fronted tern - Sterna striata) at Birdlings Flat Beach, Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, New Zealand, where desp...
10/01/2025

Tara (white-fronted tern - Sterna striata) at Birdlings Flat Beach, Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, New Zealand, where despite the lateness of the season there is still some courting behaviour going on with male birds coming into flocks on the beach with fish in bill to parade up and down to try to impress the females.

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Canterbury, New Zealand, where Auldwood Birds is based, is famous for its braided rivers (rivers with multiple channels weaving through beds of alluvial shingle). Many of our endemic birds have evolved for this dynamic, shifting environment, none more so than the Ngutu pare (wrybill - Anarhynchus frontalis), the only bird in the world with a bill that bends laterally (sideways). The rounded river stones provide spaces underneath for water insects to live and the wrybill's sideways-bending bill has evolved to reach under the stones to seize these tasty morsels. The bird is also the colour of the grey stones, and lays its eggs on the bare stones, lining the shallow scrape in the shingle with . . . you guessed it . . . more stones, selecting tiny pebbles about the size of a small pea. The bluish-grey eggs are laid on top of this bed of stones. There is no lining of sticks or feathers. The bird in this video is a male, you can tell because he has a fine black line across his forehead above the eyes.

constant bush companions
constant bush companions

Kakaruai (South Island robin - Petroica australis). Filmed on a cellphone, very friendly and confiding birds.

Tricia Hewlett Art and Auldwood Birds invite artists to join them on their Artists' Bird Photography Tour and Workshop, 28 March, Hinewai Reserve, Banks Peninsula. Experience a dawn chorus, watch the sunrise, then enjoy an in-the-field bird photography workshop designed especially for artists wanting to get better bird photos as references for their paintings. This tour has been set at a special artists' price much lower than a usual Auldwood Birds tour. For details contact: [email protected] Video shows the Brocheries Road entrance to Hinewai where our tour will start, with many opportunities to look for birds and explore landscapes.

World's rarest wading bird at Ashley Estuary
World's rarest wading bird at Ashley Estuary

Wonderful day out at the Rakahuri-Ashley Estuary today with client Lisa with the ambition of finding her, her very first kaki (black stilt) the world's rarest wading bird! One of those days when you're just about to give up and go home when magic happens, and we got Lisa some great views of the female kaki that has made the Ashley estuary its home.

Get off the couch!
Get off the couch!

Get off the couch these coming school holidays, grab the kids and book an Auldwood Birds Tour at Hinewai or the Ashley-Rakahuri Estuary. A nature experience for the whole family!

Spectacular views from Hinewai Reserve!
Spectacular views from Hinewai Reserve!

Check out this great video of the view from the Hinewai Reserve's Brocheries Road entrance, one of the focal points of Auldwood Birds' tours to this internationally recognised reserve. Easter is coming and just after that the end-of-term-one school holidays! Why not get the family together for a nature tour like no other in Canterbury? Choose your day, contact us, and we will arrange a tour to suit your family members; taking, into account ages of participants, physical fitness, numbers and how long you want to spend in the wild! Visit waterfalls, follow forest streams, and surround yourself with birdsong on this exclusive guided tour offer. A great outing for the family these coming holidays!

Kia ora and welcome to Auldwood Birds
Kia ora and welcome to Auldwood Birds

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