Saturday 31 October 2015

Tiritiri Matangi Island

Bellbird, Anthornis melanura
Tiritiri Matangi Island is a New Zealand wildlife sanctuary which is an amazing success story. It is located 30km north east of Auckland and 4km from the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. Following 120 years of farming, 95% of its native bush had disappeared. In the 10 years up to 1994 volunteers planted nearly 300,000 trees covering 60% of the island, the remaining grassland being left for open habitat species. Mammalian predators, especially rats, were eliminated and endangered birds and reptiles introduced. These include the flightless Takahe and the Tuatara lizard.
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TiritiriMatangiIsland/
my New Zealand birds page: http://bit.ly/1RFpjAp

On March 12, 2008 I visited the island and enjoyed a guided tour. This was the final day of our last visit to New Zealand, our fifth time to the country. We toured Northland for the first time, arriving in Auckland on March 1. John’s recent posts about swamp hens in Narrabeen motivated me to identify the New Zealand birds I photographed during that trip. I'll post other photos from the rest of the trip soon. I used a Nikon D40 with an 18-200 mm lens.

















New Zealand Pigeon, Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
New Zealand Pigeon


Bellbird, Anthornis melanura
Bellbirds




Tui, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
Bellbird, Anthornis melanura
Bellbird
Bellbird
South Island Robin, Petroica australis
Stitchbird, Notiomystis cincta

Bellbird








Red-crowned Parakeet, Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae
South Island Robin, Petroica australis
Stitchbird, Notiomystis cincta
Tui, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
Tui
Tui




Neptune's Necklace, Hormosira banksii