Although records no longer exist of the exact moment, I can imagine the scene; Sun glistening on the Pacific Ocean, the Endeavour quietly moving towards the shore and Captain James Cook standing on the deck, marvelling at the sounds emanating from the shore. Slowly, he takes a deep breath of warm air and proclaims…. “Bloody hell that’s a racket and an ‘arf. Pipe down you lot will yer - I was trying to get some shut eye!” Like I say records are lost.
As an island archipelago, with no land mammals to act as predators, New Zealand accumulated bird life like no other place on earth. Unfortunately since the arrival of humans, many of these species have been lost. Such as the moa, a giant flightless emu-like bird that stood nearly 4m tall and weighed 240 kilos, whilst others are nearing extinction.
So you would be forgiven for thinking that, because we live within the urban area of the country's largest city that birdlife would be relatively scarce. Thankfully we are are lucky to live next to some of the city's biggest parks and with that naturally comes some birdlife......
Tui
Ah the Tui. One of New Zealand most iconic birds and the one that greeted us on our first morning as New Zealand residents. Due to the wonders of jet-jag, I was wide awake yet absolutely exhausted as the sun rose one August morning in 2014. Through the fog of tiredness I wasn't quite sure where I was - the surroundings certainly weren't familiar. Then I heard one of the most amazing yet alien sounds. What sound? Well if you imagine what R2-D2 would sound like if it were a bird, then you'd be pretty close to the sound I heard that morning. And with that sound it all came flooding back….. Oh my god what had we done? We'd left perfectly sound careers in the UK, packed up our belongings, said tearful au-revoirs to family members and travelled half-way around the globe in search of adventure.
The Tui call welcomed us on our first morning and still does to this day and acts, if we ever needed one, as a reminder that we're not in Kansas anymore!
Kereru
Although not blessed with a call quite as unique as the Tui, the New Zealand pigeon has its own signature sound - the noise of its wings in flight. These are huge birds, the Hercules plane of the bird world, and you can hear them in flight long before you see them. A whoop-whoop-whoop and then the Kereru comes into view. I sometimes wonder, when it lands on the branch of a tree, whether the poor support will take the weight of the bird. It always does of course, but not first without seriously bending under the weight.
I don't get to see these so regularly, but every now and again, I spot one on my morning route. And every time I stop and wonder…how on earth do these things take-off!
Sacred Kingfisher
Sacred Kingfishers are wonderful and line up on the fence near our house in the morning, no doubt resting before heading back to the pond that's in the park at the bottom of the hill.
Since lockdown, I'm convinced that they're getting more prevalent. Or braver. Either way, it's a joy to stand and watch them watching before I head off for my morning run.
Morepork or Ruru
Morepork or Ruru
Being a nocturnal animal, the Morepork is rarely seen or heard during the day - but can certainly be heard at night. Their sound is so distinctive - so distinctive in fact that they're named after it. To some the call sounded like they were calling "More-pork". And so the name stuck. I’m not totally convinced myself. I guess you can sort of hear the resemblance. And why would a bird be asking for pork in the first place?
As we're settling down for the night, blinds drawn and light out, it's comforting to hear the Morepork setting itself up for the night.
Piwakawaka or Fantail
Our first encounter with the Fantail came a few weeks after we first arrived in New Zealand. We were walking around a Regional Park one morning after a damp night and as we walked on the grass, Fantails danced at our feet. What strange behaviour! Why were they doing that? As we later discovered, they were feeding on the insects that our steps had disturbed, swooping down and catching them mid-flight.
They are amazing to watch - they use their distinctive tail feathers to make quick turns as they dart around looking for food - and guaranteed to brighten up any lockdown walk in the park!
The Eastern Rosella
And so to the Eastern Rosella. We first spotted these in our local park, Auckland Domain, not long after we settled in Parnell. We'd never seen such brightly coloured birds in the wild so mistakingly assumed they'd escaped from captivity. Well you would wouldn't you. The fact that we didn't see any more for another year or two only added to that misconception.
Then, whilst walking around the Domain on the way to work, we saw some more - this time there were two of them - foraging in the grass. I had to take a photo but no sooner had I taken my phone out of my pocket they were off.
We now see them quite regularly on our runs and walks around the park. I've still never managed to capture them on camera - I guess they're just photo shy. Don't blame them really.
In the last few weeks, as human activity has been curtailed by the recent lockdown, they appear to have ventured further from their base and we quite often seen them in the trees in our street. This morning, as the warmth of the early morning spring sun fell on the street, about five Eastern Rosellas flew from tree to tree. Wonderful. I'm sure I could've caught it on camera.....but I'd left my phone in the house charging. I think they must've known. Sneaky sods.
So there you have it - a quick tour of the local birdlife, or at least the most interesting ones. There are others in abundance - yes I'm talking about you Common Mynah but no-one is going to get awestruck over you. Strutting around like you own the place.
We are so lucky to live so close to the city but be surrounded by nature and the Domain and it’s inhabitants has been a lifeline during the lockdowns. Admittedly, there are times, especially during the summer months, when the windows are open and the morning chorus is quite deafening and sleep-disturbing that I sometimes wish they were a little quieter. Maybe Captain Cook had a point afterall.
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