After we arrived we set up camp in the town of Kerikeri and got a well earned night's rest. Then were up at 5:30 to head to the jetty in Opua, about 35 minutes south.
We set out from Opua, Bay of Islands, on a very calm and clear morning on a very comfortable boat - a nice combination of conditions...
Our goal was to head out about 30km offshore to a 400m deep canyon that cuts in from the deep blue water much furher out. As our boat was a bit slow it took us about 2 hours to get out there. But we had a good time spotting birds on the way.
We passed huge flocks of Fluttering Shearwaters and even passed a Gannet colony before we got into the open water. But first, here are a few photos...
We stopped on the way out at a small island to pick up an extra person, and the jetty had a few dozen of White-fronted Terns loafing on it.
We stopped on the way out at a small island to pick up an extra person, and the jetty had a few dozen of White-fronted Terns loafing on it.
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| White-fronted Terns |
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| White-fronted Terns lazing around |
As we began to enter more open water a few Arctic Skua flew past (both light and dark phases) as they harried the terns for their lunch.
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| light phase Arctic Skua |
A few Little Penguins floated along as we motored past. Note the typical way of lying low-in-the-water.
Then we started passing a few Buller's Shearwaters...
...and a few Flesh-footed Shearwaters came in for a closer look at the boat.
And of course this beauty should be carefully observed also...
And here was the most enjoyable bird of the trip. Such a dainty bird hardly bigger than a sparrow that seems to hop and skip on the water, gracefully dancing as it searches for krill and other arthropods to feed on.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable trip! A big thanks to Detlef Davies for organising everything, bringing the burley to attract some of the birds, and for letting us camp in his beautiful garden!
Then we started passing a few Buller's Shearwaters...
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| Buller's Shearwater |
...and a few Flesh-footed Shearwaters came in for a closer look at the boat.
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| Flesh-footed Shearwater |
Some even had a go at snorkeling. Haha, nah they're just after the fish bits we threw overboard.
This species can be hard to tell apart from the next one, but look closely at the beak - notice a difference? I'll explain more in a later post about this initially challenging ID.
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| Flesh-footed Shearwater searching for fish scrap |
This species can be hard to tell apart from the next one, but look closely at the beak - notice a difference? I'll explain more in a later post about this initially challenging ID.
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| Parkinson's (Black) Petrel |
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| Parkinson's (Black) Petrel |
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| Parkinson's (Black) Petrel |
And of course this beauty should be carefully observed also...
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| Mermaid |
And here was the most enjoyable bird of the trip. Such a dainty bird hardly bigger than a sparrow that seems to hop and skip on the water, gracefully dancing as it searches for krill and other arthropods to feed on.
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| White-faced Storm-Petrel dancing on the water |
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| White-faced Storm-Petrel dancing on the water |
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| White-faced Storm-Petrel dancing on the water |
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable trip! A big thanks to Detlef Davies for organising everything, bringing the burley to attract some of the birds, and for letting us camp in his beautiful garden!
awesome photos David!
ReplyDeleteMy fave is the first Buller's shearwater. Looks like it's standing on the water with its wings.
Very cool.