Welcome to Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ


This photo was taken on the November 2012 21-day tour by Brent. We had seen a couple of blue duck briefly in the North Island (they have been a little tricky this year) but we found a pair in the South Island and had absolutely stunning prolonged views and got some great photos. We try hard to maximise the birding opportunities on each trip, and just because we have seen a species, doesn't mean we don't try for more sightings! We boast the largest trip lists of any other operator in New Zealand, bar none, but most importantly, we like to have fun, conducting a relaxed and easy-paced tour throughout New Zealand. If you'd like to be a happy Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ traveller then contact us now.

Up-coming tours and news
	CHATHAM ISLANDS 2013! We are running a 7-day trip to the Chatham Islands again in 2013 - 3-9 December 2013. Details are not yet finalised, but the trip will depart Christchurch on 3 Dec and return to Wellington on 9 Dec 2013. There will be a chance to do at least 2-3 pelagics and have a chance at all the accessible land birds! With an expensive location like this it makes take advantage of a group trip like this - please contact us now!
	We are now working more and more with Overseas Operators wanting to run New Zealand tours with us! This is great news, with operators from the USA, UK, Denmark, Norway, Germany, among the currently scheduled trips and others proposing tours for coming seasons. This does however mean that with only three guides we are running on average TWO 21-day tours per season. This means places fill fast and so to avoid missing out please contact us sooner rather than later. Our scheduled tours can be seen here.
	Our 2012 season has filled up, with a busy Dec-Feb planned. We currently have one tour underway in Dec and three nearly concurrent tours in Jan-Feb! We have the schedule for our 21-day scheduled tours for next season (2013-14) up now, and the November 2013 tour looks almost full, but with vacancies in the Jan-Feb 2014 departure, so be in quick! If you would like more details please contact us now for further information.
	Excellent article in 25 Sept 'Sunday Star Times' in which Brent and Sav featured prominantly as rediscoverers of the New Zealand storm-petrel - read it here

Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ.......started out as a couple of birding mates making the decision to setup their own independent bird guiding business. We felt there was a need for real BIRDERS, who were passionate about birding, really knew their New Zealand birds and birding sites inside out, and were based in New Zealand, with access to up to date information on the New Zealand birding scene. Sure we know our natural history as well, but we are BIRDERS, the name says it all! Pelagic birding trips are just one of our specialties, with unrivalled knowledge within New Zealand. Our rediscovery of the supposedly-extinct New Zealand Storm-petrel in 2003, as we were just starting to operate our business, was an amazing sign that we were really doing the right thing. However, we also know our land-birds just as well and know you will enjoy your New Zealand birding experience with us! So here we are.......Sav Saville and Brent Stephenson. Our list of services can be found here, with anything from pre-trip planning advice, to a full North and South Island organised tour (including the Chathams and Stewart Island), and anything in between. As Sav and Brent live in different parts of the North Island, we are also able to offer guided trips around our 'neck-of-the-woods' for one or more days. Trip reports from our pelagics, personal birding trips, and guided trips can be found here. If you are visiting New Zealand, then email us to let us know how we can help.

So why choose us?
We must be doing something right if pelagic experts and overseas field leaders think we do a good job! Check out endorsements from World class birders here and see our testimonials page here. We only operate in New Zealand, choosing to run tours on our home turf where we know things best. Our trip lists speak for themselves - during the last two summers our 21-day itineraries have consistently seen over 150 species with both Brent and Sav seeing 168 species on separate tours in late 2011! No other New Zealand operator even comes close to species lists like this! Our 21-day tours are only run by birders we know and trust! Sav & Brent have been running tours by themselves since 2002, but have now enlisted the help of Phil Hammond. Phil is an excellent guide and birder and we have no hesitation bring him onboard as a guide. We are licensed Department of Conservation concessionaires, permitted to operate on New Zealand's conservation estate. This means some of your fee goes towards ensuring the conservation of the birds you will see. We love getting out and about birding, we are birders through and through - we even go birding on the weekend! BUT, we are also keen on plants, invertebrates, and other New Zealand wildlife. So a birding tour with us is NOT just hardcore birding, we take time to see the country and other things of interest during our 21-day tours. Consistently travelling the country to see new birds - see our Rarities section for the things we have discovered, successfully twitched, and (damn it!) unsuccessfully chased. Prominent in the NZ birding scene - Brent started and moderates BIRDING-NZ and is the record holder for the most birds seen in NZ in a calendar year (206 in 2006, see the streaming video here), Sav is now involved in the Rarities Committee for the OSNZ, having been the Regional Representative in his region in the past, and we both regularly contribute to BIRDING-NZ, are featured prominently in Steve Braunias’ 'How to Watch a Bird', and we rediscovered the supposedly 'extinct' New Zealand storm-petrel Plus we love showing New Zealand and its fantastic birds to overseas birders! Read client testimonials here. Do you need any more reasons to email us??


Interested in a 'Virtual tour'? Brent did a virtual tour during the last three 21-day tours he has led in October/November 2010, 2011 and 2012 (see them on his blog here, here, and here).

An at sea sighting by Sav and Brent led to the rediscovery of the 'extinct' New Zealand storm-petrel!

Click here for information on the first sighting in 150+ years

Birds captured in the Hauraki Gulf!
Latest info and photos here

Up and coming
	Pelagic trips out of Houhora (Far North & Three Kings), Hauraki Gulf, Whitianga, Stewart Island & the Chatham Islands - register your interest!!
STOP PRESS! We are organising our SIXTH four-day COST SHARE live aboard pelagic from Houhora (Far North) to the Three Kings Islands - dates to be confirmed, but early March 2013. We ran one in each year from 2007-2012 - what a success!! Reportable rare birds galore - read the trip reports here. At present the trip has a space or two left, so let us know if you are interested. Total cost will be around NZ$1350 per person, including all food, etc. and a maximum of seven participants. Dates are a little earlier than in some of the early years, hopefully allowing us a good mix of sub-tropical species as well as potentially some early northward dispersal of southern breeding species. For more information and to register your interest email us now.
For the schedule of pelagic trips out of New Zealand ports over the next 12 months, check our Pelagics page.

Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites