April 2008

After a few more days in Auckland, travelled south via Rotarua and Taupo to Wellington. Then to the South Island: Marlborough area, Kaikoura, Christchurch, the west coast, Queenstown and Dunedin.

North Island
149. Little shag
150. Black swan (introduced)
151. Canada goose (introduced)
152. New Zealand soveller
153. New Zealand dabchick
154. White cockatoo
155. Red-crowned parakeet
156. Tomtit (P. m. toitoi)
157. Grey warbler
158. New Zealand pipit
159. Hedge sparrow
160. Greenfinch
161. New Zealand falcon

South Island
162. Black-browed mollymawk
163. Westland black petrel
164. Sooty shearwater
165. Spotted shag
166. Banded dotterel
167. Black-fronted tern
168. White heron
169. Grey teal
170. Crested grebe
171. California quail
172. Yellow-eyed penguin
173. Stewart Island shag
174. Royal spoonbill
(Hybridised mallard/grey duck)
175. Weka
176. Caspian tern
177. Brown creeper
(Tomtit (P. m. macrocephala))

Uncertain sightings
Many sea-birds seen from Picton ferry, around Kaikoura and Otago penninsular. Giant petrel (Macronectes sp.), storm petrel (thought to be either black-bellied or grey-backed).

Non-birds
Sperm whale, common dolphin, dusky dolphin, Hooker's sea-lion, southern sea-lion, rabbit, brown hare, hedgehog and mouse.

March 2008

Towards the end of February I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. These species were seen either in or around the city, or in Coromandel.

Auckland
114. Australian gannet
115. Mallard (introduced)
116. Australian harrier
117. Australian coot
118. Pukeko
119. Spur-winged lapwing
120. Variable oystercatcher
121. South Island pied oystercatcher
(Dominican (black-backed) gull)
122. Red-billed gull
123. New Zealand pigeon
(Feral pigeon)
124. Spotted dove (introduced)
125. Crimson rosella
126. Welcome swallow
127. Silvereye
128. Blacbird (introduced)
129. Song thrush (introuced)
130. Tui
(House sparrow)
131 Yellowhammer (introduced)
132. Goldfich (introduced)
133. Starling (introuced)
134. Indin mynah (introduced)
135. Chaffinch (introduced)
136. White-fronted tern
137. Fantail
138. New Zealand kingfisher

Coromandel
139. Pied shag
140. Black shag
141. White-faced heron
142. Paradise shelduck
143. Pheasant (introduced)
144. Turkey (introduced)
145. Pied stilt
146. Skylark (introduced)
147. Bellbird
148. Australian magpie (G. t. hypoleuca)

Uncertain sightings
Large group of storm petrels sitting on surface about 100m out to sea, on west coast of Coromandel penninsular, possibly white-faced.

February 2008

Last few days in Argentina (around Bariloche) and then into Chile: Osorno, Santiago and Valparaiso.

Bariloche
100. Striped woodpecker
(Southern lapwing)
(Chimango caracara)
101. Black-faced ibis
102. Thorn-tailed rayadito
103. Chiguanco thrush
104. White-crested elaenia
105. Black-faced ibis
106. Andean (brown-hooded) gull
107. Austral blackbird

Santiago
108. Shiny cowbird

Valparaiso/Vina del Mar
109. Masked booby
110. Peruvian pelican
111. Spot-flanked gallinule
112. Dark-bellied cinclodes
113. Guanay cormorant

Non-birds
Marine otter (Lontra felina) in sea at Valparaiso. Also fur seals, presumably South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis).