maia bird's photostream  

paradise shelduck, male
Portobello, South Island, New Zealand

Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand

Pronounced "TOO-ee". There are very few native New Zealand passerines, and this is one of them. It is often referred to as the Parson Bird for the two white throat tufts. It has a beautiful and variable song, sometimes sounding like a wood thrush.

Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand

I think this is a male because it is greener and doesn't have a white malar stripe.

I would never have gotten this shot without my previous failures on tropical vacations, as we walked from bright sunshine to dark and raining in the forested canopy in a matter of minutes. Dear hubby carted my Thinktank Airport International bag and Kata backpack for me most of the time, so that I could switch lenses and add flash depending upon the conditions. The one thing I didn't do was bring a tripod or monopod, and I didn't miss it.

On our trip to Tiritiri I brought the backpack with 70-200, 1.7TC, 18-200, the Speedlight SB-600 with diffuser, and most importantly the waterproof backpack shell for the downpours.

Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand

I'm increasing my post rate so I can get through more New Zealand birds. I'm pleased that I got to see so many endemic birds, in contrast to other Pacific destinations such as Hawaii.

The pateke breed only in New Zealand and have declined dramatically. They have been released on the protected island of Tiritiri in an effort to increase their numbers. Releases on the mainland have failed due to predation by introduced cats, dogs and mustelids (stoats).

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

Habitat: large deep freshwater lakes, including hydro lakes; also coastal dune lakes. Lake Wakatipu is in the Southern Alps and is crystal clear just like in this picture.