Black Bittern, Shoveler, White-winged Tern added to Yandina Creek Wetlands List

Australian Pelican

Black Bittern, Australasian Shoveler and White-winged Tern have been added to an increasingly impressive bird list for the Yandina Creek Wetlands on the Sunshine Coast.

Black-necked Stork

During a visit to the wetlands today with Chris Corben, one of the first birds we saw was an adult Black-necked Stork; later, a male Black-necked Stork was seen flying overhead. The site appears to have this species in residence. Australian Pelican and Royal Spoonbill were in particularly large numbers. An adult Black Bittern was seen at the confluence of Yandina Creek and one of the drainage channels. A flock of 20+ White-winged Terns were feeding over the wetland. A female Australasian Shoveler was seen among the Pacific Black Ducks. A single Lewin's Rail and several Spotless Crakes were heard.

Swamp Tiger

Butterflies were in good numbers, with thousands of Swamp Tigers about.

Map of Yandina Creek Wetlands

Meanwhile, the campaign to secure the protection of the Yandina Creek Wetlands continues. Unfortunately, the landowners of two of three properties covered by the acquisition proposal - see here for details - have refused permission for a comprehensive fauna and flora survey to proceed. Birders have been banned from entering the properties. While I continue to have limited access to the edge of the wetlands through neighbouring properties that I have permission to visit, birders are asked not to attempt to trespass on these properties as there is no public access. I am continuing negotiations with landholders in the hope of progressing the conservation case for protecting this area. Thanks to Wayne Roberts for preparing the above map of the wetlands proposal, which is coloured yellow.

In a positive development, the Sunshine Coast Council has indicated that proposals to redevelop the wetlands for cattle pasture must meet council planning regulations that protect designated wetlands and native vegetation on the properties concerned. More importantly, the office of federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has informed the landholders of their obligations to ensure that any development does not put at risk the endangered species and migratory shorebirds that occur in the wetlands (see the above-mentioned link for details).

Marbled Frogmouth

Other good birds at the wetlands during another visit recently included an Eastern Grass Owl flying overhead at dusk. Later that same evening, this male Marbled Frogmouth was spotted in the Mapleton National Park in the nearby Blackall Range.

Channel-billed Cuckoo

Elsewhere, this Channel-billed Cuckoo was seen at Little Yabba Creek.

Forest Kingfisher juvenile

On the home front, a pair of Forest Kingfishers has successfully raised two youngsters in our garden at Ninderry, while a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas have become frequent visitors to the feeders.

Pale-headed Rosella

On Fiordland, Kakapos and the Fine Art of Cruising Around New Zealand

Dusky Sound, Fiordland

You might have been pondering the merits of indulging in an ocean cruise but never quite
taken the plunge? Well, there are worse ways to spend your time and money. I had been to New Zealand several times and on cruises before but combining the two seemed like a good idea, so we opted for a 14-day sojourn aboard the Sea Princess from January 13 to January 27 - departing from and returning to Brisbane,. That saved the bother of having to fly anywhere. Seabirds seen on the trip are discussed here with pics; this post looks at scenic attractions and the fine art of cruise vacationing.

Fiordland - Doubtful Sound

The highlight of the trip was the glorious scenery of the World Heritage-listed Fiordland National Park in the south-west of the South Island. I had visited Milford Sound twice previously but it is impossible to tire of that part of the world. On this cruise, in addition to Milford, the ship negotiated four other fiords - Dusky Sound and Breaksea Sound (in a south-north one-way diversion from the coast) and Doubtful Sound and Thompson Sound (negotiated in similar fashion further north).

With kakapo in 2002 - Codfish Island 

I was fortunate to have some memorable encounters with the kakapo - one of the world's rarest and most bizarre birds - in 2002 on Codfish Island, not far south of Fiordland (article here). On our cruise through Fiordland, we had on board a NZ Government wildlife expert who explained the significance of landmarks we passed. The flightless Kakapo was once widespread throughout New Zealand but was wiped out on the main islands by an onslaught of stoats and other feral pests. We were shown a spot high in the mountains above Milford Sound where the last of the species on the South Island was seen in the early-1980s. We sailed past Resolution Island where almost a century earlier - in the 1890s - 200 kakapos were moved from the mainland in a bid to save them from foreign predators; the effort was in vain, all the birds were slaughtered within six years of stoats reaching the island in 1900.

Secretary Island in Fiordland

We hugged the eastern shore of Secretary Island where, we were told, exotic deer had been almost eliminated, with just five animals left to dispose of. Moves by the NZ authorities to rid these islands of introduced animals - and put in place management practices to ensure they are not recolonised - is the key to saving kakapo and other threatened wildlife; the New Zealanders are world leaders in the art. We admired the moss-laden beach forests of Anchor Island in Dusky Sound, where kakapos were liberated a decade ago after stoats were eradicated.

Fiordland Coast

A couple of small boats were the only signs of humanity during our time in these more isolated southern fiords. As we left them, we soaked up the splendour of the Fiordland coast as we steamed north towards Milford Sound past an endless panorama of sandy beaches, rocky outcrops, valleys of seemingly impenetrable forest, and snow-capped mountains.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound, the only one of the 14 fiords of Fiordland that can be reached by road, was busier than those further south, as expected, but the views were no less inspiring. This area has some of the highest rainfall in the world and often bad weather prevents cruise liners from accessing the fiords, but fortune had smiled upon us.

Milford Sound

Anyone opting to embark on a cruise needs to make sure they get a room with a balcony. You can watch the ocean and sites from the comfort of a bed, or look for seabirds whenever you feel like it from comfortable balcony chairs.) The staterooms themselves are large, air-conditioned and very comfortable.

Stateroom deck

Cruise stateroom

The cruise ship offers recreational activities ranging from bingo, card tournaments and open air movies to aerobatic classes, carpet bowls and photography lessons. For our part, we didn't bother with the three pools, spa, sauna or much else other than a couple of late night live shows performed by a Freddie Mercury impersonator with a fine voice.

Dinner Time

However, the food managed to command our interest. It's THE thing about cruises. There is an abundance of food at any time of day or night in all shapes and forms. A huge buffet for breakfast, lunch of dinner necessitate a degree of willpower.

Formal Wear Night

We opted for fine dining at a regular table at the same time each evening. Some truly memorable food was enjoyed - think beef wellington, lobster, partridge, fat king prawns - and the service was excellent. Two nights were designated Formal Wear; not usually my style but when in Rome....

Top deck pool, bar and restaurant area

Ship atrium

The Sea Princess is a huge beast. It took some time to work out how to negotiate its 14 levels. Essentially, the heart of the ship is the 4-level atrium; you kind of learn how to get there and back from your room and the rest is automatic pilot after a bit. Beware of the plastic card you are issued that allows you to chalk up expenses. You are allowed to take on board just one bottle of wine per person.

Auckland

We were at sea for two days after leaving Brisbane before reaching the North Island. The first port of call was New Zealand's biggest city. Auckland cut a fine figure in a blaze of lights reflected on its splendid harbour as we berthed late in the evening. You can opt for one of the cruise's expensive onshore tours at any of the six land stops, or sign up for one much more cheaply at the local tourism bureau when you get off the boat. Or you may simply wander about and do what you want, which is what we did most of the time. Generally the ship is in port for a full day, allowing plenty of time to poke around. In Auckland we visited the Maritime Museum before wandering the city streets for a bit.

Mt Maunganui at Tauranga

The next stop was Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Mt Maunganui was a good look here; a walking track around its base was a pleasant diversion. Native birds in the forest along the track included Tui, Grey Gerygone and Bellbird, while Variable Oystercatchers were on the beach.

Tui

Variable Oystercatcher

 New Zealand is awash with introduced birds like this Yellowhammer.

Yellowhammer

Our next stop was the key port of Napier, also on the North Island. The ship looked impressive from a lookout above the wharf.

Sea Princess at Napier

We admired the art deco homes built after the city was wiped out by an earthquake in 1931. Our bus was held up by a fatal car accident while returning to the ship. While waiting, I looked out the window and saw this woman and her dog on her veranda; I thought they looked eerily alike.

Napier- roadside street scene

We were next in the New Zealand capital, Wellington. I had been there before for work and remember it being continuously wet and windy. We were blessed here - as for the entire trip - with perfect weather; mild, wind-free and sunny. We took the cable car from the CBD to the botanic gardens. We wandered down steep suburban back streets(so San Francisco) past stately homes with views to die for before reconnecting with the city's fine harbour esplanade.

Wellington

After leaving the North Island we moved on to the historic town of Akaroa, near Christchurch. We had been here before so didn't bother going ashore, but it was pleasant enough soaking in the tranquil environs of Banks Peninsula and its surrounding waters.

Akaroa, Banks Peninsula

Our final port was Port Chalmers, near Dunedin. We opted for a local tour to check out sights around town, visiting the small but impressive Lanarche Castle with its awesome view over the harbour. The coastline near Dunedin, as in much of New Zealand, was never boring.

Coast near Dunedin

Lanarche Castle Dunedin

View from Lanarche Castle to Port Chalmers

 After leaving Milford Sound, it is 3 days sailing across the Tasman Sea to return to Brisbane.

Heading Home Across the Tasman

Cruising the Pacific from Oz to New Zealand: Pycroft's Petrel and Other Seabirds

Wandering Albatross

Nice seabirds seen during a two-week cruise from Brisbane to New Zealand and back included Pycroft's Petrel (the highlight); White-bellied  and White-faced Storm-Petrels; Black and White-chinned Petrels; Northern Royal and Buller's Albatross; Red-tailed and White-tailed Tropicbirds; Red-footed Booby; White, Sooty, White-fronted and Bridled Terns; Black-winged, White-necked, Kermadec, Gould's, Mottled and Cook's Petrels; Common Diving-Petrel; Broad-billed and Fairy Prions; and Little Shearwater.

Great-winged Petrel

We indulged in a two-week sojourn aboard the cruise ship Sea Princess, departing Brisbane on  January 13 and returning on January 27. Our route took us directly from Brisbane to the north end of New Zealand, where we veered south down the North Island's east coast. The ship called in at Auckland and Tauranga before turning into Cook Strait to visit Wellington. We then proceeded down the east coast of the South Island, visiting Akaroa and Dunedin, before heading west through the Foveaux Srait to Fiordland in the island's south-west. Our return route took us directly north-west from Milford Sound across the Tasman Sea to Brisbane. Weather conditions generally were uncharacteristically fine and mild for all but one day. Apologies in advance for the poor quality of some of these images but birds were often distant.

Great-winged Petrel

We had a stateroom with a balcony on the 11th floor deck, affording wide views of the ocean. As well, I spent a good deal of time watching from the ship at lower decks near sea level. Unfortunately, most of the cruising in New Zealand waters was at night. This post will focus on seabirds; further offerings will cover scenic attractions and other information about the cruise.

January 14. We were well outside Australian territorial waters during our first full day at sea after leaving Brisbane late the previous afternoon. A Gould's Petrel was identified close to the ship in the early morning. Many other small Pterodromas that day went unidentified - a pattern to be repeated throughout the trip as these small, fast-flying petrels are not easily identified from big ships unless they are close. The first of many Great-winged Petrels appeared; this species proved to be common on both transects of the Tasman Sea and in waters all around New Zealand. Almost all were of the New Zealand-breading race gouldi; however, a couple of the race macroptera were seen on the return leg in the Tasman Sea. A few Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and a couple of Flesh-footed Shearwaters were also seen on Day One of the cruise, and just before sunset, a single Sooty Tern flew over the ship.

Northern Royal Albatross

January 15. Several Black-winged Petrels were seen quite well as we continued our journey east. More Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters were about in small numbers. The first and only Pomarine Jaeger for the trip was noted and a Northern Royal Albatross graced the horizon as the vessel approached New Zealand.

Buller's Shearwater

January 16. A memorable day. We could see the northern end of Ninety-Mile Beach on New Zealand's North Island at first light and the approach to land was accompanied by a sharp rise in bird numbers. Great-winged Petrels were numerous and the first Shy Albatross (apparently race steadi) appeared. As we rounded the top end of the North Island, the ship was accompanied by large numbers of Buller's Shearwaters and Cook's Petrels.

Australasian Gannet

Our first Little Shearwater appeared along with small numbers of Fluttering Shearwaters and Fairy Prions. As we steamed down the eastern coast of the North Island, there were numerous White-faced Storm-Petrels, Cook's Petrels, Buller's Shearwaters, Fairy Prions and Australasian Gannets.

Pycroft's Petrel off Poor Knights Islands

Cook's Petrel off Poor Knights Islands

About 10 nautical miles off the Poor Knights Islands, east of Kaeo, I saw from 6 to 8 Pycroft's Petrels. The islands are one of the few breeding sites for this rare New Zealand species. I saw the Pycroft's Petrels over a period of about 15 minutes as the ship covered a distance of a few kilometres. Plenty of Cook's Petrels were about and the two species could be seen together close to the ship. The differences were quite apparent. Pycroft's appeared notably more bull-headed (a feature described as thick-necked by other observers) and was much darker on the upperparts. The M marking on the upperparts was less marked than in Cook's. The conspicuous eye patch of Cook's was essentially absent in Pycroft's, the eye markings of which were only marginally darker than the cap; Cook's generally appeared much more pale-headed with a somewhat smaller-looking head.

Black Petrel

Seabird numbers in good numbers continued to be seen as we entered Hauraki Gulf - mostly the species referred to above but several Black Petrels were noted along with a couple more Little Shearwaters and a few Common Diving-Petrels. A small black-and-white storm petrel was seen, but not not well enough to be identified. We berthed at Auckland that evening.

Kelp Gull

January 17. We were in Auckland all day, seeing the first of many Red-billed Gulls, Kelp Gulls and White-fronted Terns noted during the rest of our trip around coastal New Zealand.

Little Penguin

January 18. We were at sea at night before arriving in Tauranga. A Little Penguin was floating on the sea surface near the ship; many others were heard in coastal waters but this was my only sighting of this species. Other seabirds in the sheltered waters included Little Pied Cormorant and Little Pied Cormorant.

White-fronted Tern

January 19. Again, our sailing at sea was at night before we arrived in the port of Napier, where Great Cormorant was the only addition to the seabird list.

January 20. Most of the journey south of Napier was again at night but in the few hours of daylight in Cook Strait before arriving in Wellington we saw our first Hutton's Shearwaters and Sooty Shearwaters. Other birds included Shy Albatross, Fairy Prion and another Northern Royal Albatross.

January 21. More nocturnal travelling before reaching Akaroa, where Spotted Shag in large numbers was added to the list.

Northern Royal Albatross at Talaroa Head colony

January 22. We sailed again at night to reach Port Chalmers, near Dunedin. As we left the harbour in the late afternoon, about 60 Northern Royal Albatross were counted at their nesting ground at Talaroa Head. Large numbers of Stewart Island Shags were present here and we saw our first Buller's Albatross and the only Arctic Jaeger of the trip.

Buller's Albatross

January 23. We had a few hours of morning daylight in the western Foveaux Strait as we travelled westward, seeing many more Buller's Albatross and the first Wandering Albatross (antipodensis) of the trip. Of interest was the sighting of several Mottled Petrels and Broad-billed Prions at close quarters.

Shy Albatross

Cook's Petrels and Sooty Shearwaters were numerous, and a single Northern Giant-Petrel was seen.

January 24. After visiting Fiordland, we left Milford Sound for the return journey across the Tasman, seeing the only White-chinned Petrel of the trip along with small numbers of Buller's Shearwaters, Cook's Petrels and Shy Albatross. A small group of Short-tailed Shearwaters was unexpected as we proceeded westward, as were a couple of Black-winged Petrels.

Cook's Petrel - Foveaux Strait

January 25.  This was the only windy day of the trip, gusting up to 45 knots with a 5m swell as we made our way across the central Tasman Sea in international waters. In the vicinity of 32' 21' 27' s, 159' 17' 49' e I saw 2 Red-tailed Tropicbirds, and soon after a single White-tailed Tropicbird. A third Red-tailed Tropicbird was seen over the ship 30 minutes or so later.

Red-tailed Tropicbird

Several Bridled Terns were seen in the same general area along with 3 Fregatta-type storm-petrels. One of these was seen well as in banked in full sunlight close the ship, clearing showing all-white underparts except for its dark throat; this bird was undeniably a White-bellied Storm-Petrel.

Wandering Albatross

Small numbers of Great-winged Petrels were the only other birds seen this day apart from a single Wandering Albatross (antipodensis).

Black-winged Petrel

January 26. This was the last day at sea and the only day sailing in daylight in Australian territorial waters. Birds were few but the species were good. A pale-phase Kermadec Petrel was seen about 110 nautical miles east of Coffs Harbour (about 29' 59' 22's, 155' 41' 42'e). Then a White-necked Petrel and a White Tern were seen at about the same time some 100 nautical miles east of Brooms Head, NSW (29' 43' 39's, 155' 40' 40e); the water depth here was about 4000 metres.

White-necked Petrel

A few Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Great-winged Petrels were the only other birds seen this day before an immature intermediate-phase Red-footed Booby flew over the ship just on sunset about 60 nautical miles east of Surfers Paradise (about 28' 4' 71's, 154' 34' 39'e). We arrived in Brisbane early the next morning.

Red-footed Booby

SEABIRD SPECIES LIST: Little Penguin, Wandering Albatross, Northern Royal Albatross, Buller's Albatross, Shy Albatross, Northern Giant-Petrel, White-chinned Petrel, Black Petrel,  Pycroft's Petrel, Cook's Petrel, Black-winged Petrel, White-necked Petrel, Mottled Petrel, Broad-billed Prion, Fairy Prion, Hutton's Shearwater, Fluttering Shearwater, Little Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater, Common Diving-Petrel, White-faced Storm-Petrel, White-bellied Storm-Petrel, Red-footed Booby, Australasian Gannet, White-tailed Tropicbird, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Pied Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Spotted Shag, Stewart Island Shag, Red-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Arctic Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger.