Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ: Trip reports

New Zealand tour trip reports

Place/Trip	Dates	Tour run by	Number of species seen
2012
Tour report and checklist for New Zealand 21-day tour (43,380kb & 149kb)	4 - 24 November	Brent	162 species

2011
Tour report and checklist for New Zealand 21-day tour (6,604kb & 235kb)	25 October - 14 November	Brent	168 species! Tying the NZ record!
Tour report and checklist for pre-WPO Northern North Island tour (3,001kb & 83kb)	12-19 April	Brent	111 species plus heard little-spotted kiwi
Tour report and checklist for short Southern South Island tour (2,092kb & 80kb)	3-9 April	Brent	92 species
Tour report and checklist for New Zealand 21-day tour...to come	Jan 2011	Sav

2010
Tour report and checklist for New Zealand 21-day tour (7MB & 431kb)	1-21 November	Brent	161 species plus heard great-spotted kiwi
Species list for a three day Photographic tour in the Central/Southern North Island	19-21 February	Brent	68 species
Species list for half day Hawkes Bay tour	18 February	Brent	58 species + 1 heard
Species list for full day Hawkes Bay tour	2 January	Brent	65 species

2009
Species list for Chatham Island tour operated for Birdwatching Breaks	18-22 December	Brent
Species list for New Zealand tour operated for Birdwatching Breaks	29 November - 16 December	Brent
Trip report for New Zealand tour operated for Birdwatching Breaks	29 November - 16 December	Brent
Trip report for New Zealand tour operated for Ross Silcock/New Zealand Land & Pelagic Bird Tours		Sav	165 - a new record!
Species list for New Zealand 21-day tour	9 February - 1 March	Brent	154 species
Species list for New Zealand 21-day tour	12 January - 1 February	Brent	156 species

2007
Species list for New Zealand 21-day tour	11-31 January	Brent	156 species

Many of the trip reports below have been taken from BIRDING-NZ. For more information about this newsgroup, please click here.

Pelagic and general birding trip reports

Place/Trip	Date	Author	Birds of interest
2011
Three Kings/Far North pelagic	2 -5 March 2011	Sav	THE BEST Three Kings pelagic to date - Collared petrel (first record for NZ), Tahiti petrel, wedge-tailed shearwater, and sooty tern (photos)

2010
Three Kings/Far North pelagic	1 -4 April 2010	Nigel Milius	Campbell albatross, Kermadec petrel, Pomarine skua, Bryde's whale (photos)
Haurakui Gulf and Whitianga pelagics and northern birding	10 - 14 February 2010	Brent	NZSP, Australasian little grebe, Pycroft's petrel (photos)

2009
Three Kings/Far North pelagic	4 - 7 April 2009	Sav	South Polar skua, black (white-capped) noddy, Kermadec petrel (photos)

2008
Kaikoura pelagic	1 June 2008	Steve Wood & Russell Cannings	White-headed petrel, Antarctic fulmar, white-chinned petrel (white-chinned bird) (photos)
Three Kings pelagic	5 - 8 April 2008	Sav	Long-tailed skua, South Polar skua, white-naped petrel, GOULD'S PETREL and other rarities (photos)

2007
Three Kings pelagic	31 March - 3 April 2007	Brent and Sav	GOULD'S PETREL and other rarities (photos)

2006
Oceanwings pelagic	3 November 2006	Brent	Wandering albatross, Westland petrel, dusky dolphins (photos)
Hauraki Gulf pelagic	25 October 2006	Brent	NZ storm-petrel, Australasian gannets diving (photos)
Far North pelagic	30 September - 1 October 2006	Sav	Grey petrel, white-chinned petrel, wandering albatrosses (photos)
Gisborne pelagic	19 August 2006	Brent	Chatham alb, grey petrel, 9 taxa of albs! (photos)
NZ falcon observations	8 June 2006	Brent	NZ falcon (photos)
Milford Sound to Brisbane cruise	27 February to 3 March 2006	Brent	Stejneger's, white-headed, Kermadec, and white-naped petrels amongst others (photos)
Auckland to Milford Sound cruise	30 January to 8 February 2006	Brent	Seabirds, falcon

2005
Napier 'mini' pelagic	12 December 2005	Brent	Black petrel
Milford Sound to Auckland cruise	1-10 December 2005	Brent	Seabirds and intermediate egret
Whitianga pelagic	24 November 2005	Roger McNeill	Pycroft's petrel, black petrel
Napier pelagic	19 November 2005	Colin Miskelly	Albatrosses, white-faced storm-petrel
Chatham Islands	7-28 November 2005	Brent	Taiko, black robin, and other Chatham endemics (photos)

2004
Tolaga Bay pelagic	4 December 2004	Sav	Little shearwater, black petrel, skuas
Hauraki Gulf pelagic	13 November 2004	Sav	NZ storm-petrel, Cook's petrel
Kermadec Islands	1-14 November 2004	Brent	Kermadec storm-petrel, Kermadec petrel, white-naped petrel, etc (photos)
Hick's Bay 'Ranfurly Banks' pelagic	10 Oct 2004	Tim Barnard & Brent	Albatrosses, Wilson's storm-petrel
Tolaga Bay pelagic	9 Oct 2004	Sav & Brent	Albatrosses and Antarctic fulmar
Napier pelagic	10 July 2004	Brent	Brown skua, prions
South Island Trip	3 - 8 June 2004	Sav	Black stilt, falcon, seabirds (photos)
Tolaga Bay pelagic	2 May 2004	Brent	Brown skua, GREY PHALAROPE
Hauraki Gulf	8 Feb 2004	Sav	New Zealand storm-petrel
Hauraki Gulf	18 Jan 2004	Brent	New Zealand storm-petrel

2003
Tolaga Bay pelagic	7 Dec 2003	Sav	Cook's petrel, grey-backed and white-faced storm-petrel, white-chinned petrel (photos)
Manawatu Estuary	11-15 Nov 2003	Brent & Sav	Great knot, Asiatic whimbrel (photos)
Whitianga pelagic	6 Nov 2003	Brent & Sav	Pycroft's and Cook's petrel, white-faced storm-petrel, short-tailed and sooty shearwater (photos)
Miranda	5-6 Nov 2003	Brent & Sav	Marsh, terek, and sharp-tailed sandpipers, NZ dotterel (photos)
Hawke's Bay - Manawatu "The Touring Wrybills" Twitchathon Team	26-27 Oct 2003	Sav	86 species in a 24 hour period, with no boats or island visits!!
Whitianga pelagic	7 Sept 2003	Brent	Fluttering shearwater, Common diving petrel, Little shearwater, Humpback whale (photos)
Oceanwings pelagic, Kaikoura	3 Sept 2003	Brent	Hutton's shearwater, Chatham albatross (photos)
Gisborne pelagic	27 July 2003	Tim Barnard & Brent	Thin-billed prion, Chatham albatross, other seabirds (photo)
Wanganui pelagic	13 June 2003	Sav	White-capped albatross (photo)
Waikanae Estuary	1 May 2003	Brent	Brown teal, little cormorant, etc (photos)
Tolaga Bay pelagic	27 April 2003	Tim Barnard	Brown skua, South Polar skua, long-tailed skua, grey petrel, Wilson's storm-petrel (photos)
Tolaga Bay pelagic	23 Feb 2003	Tim Barnard	Long-tailed skua and others (photos)
Porangahau Estuary	21 Feb 2003	Brent	Sanderling (photos)
Manawatu Estuary	19 Jan 2003	Brent	Waders in breeding plumage! (photos)
Whitianga Pelagic	25 Jan 2003	Brent & Sav	Flesh-footed shearwater, Pycroft's petrel, Unidentified storm-petrel (photos)
Manawatu Estuary	20 Jan 2003	Brent & Sav	Common tern, mixed waders (photos)
South Island trip	03-13 Jan 2003	Brent	Kea, Fiordland-crested penguin, Yellowhead (photos)
Oceanwings pelagic, Kaikoura and Lake Grassmere	02 Dec 2002	Brent	North royal alb, cape petrel (subsp. capense), red-necked phalarope (photos)

2002
Oceanwings pelagic, Kaikoura	29 Nov 2002	Sav	Chinstrap penguin (photos)
Waikanae Estuary	26 Nov 2002	Brent	Royal spoonbill, brown teal (photos)
Manawatu Estuary	23 Nov 2002	Sav	Manawatu Estuary Trust "Welcome to the Birds" -Mixed waders, inc Eastern curlew (photos)
Dunedin/Hokitika 'twitch'	5-7 July 2002	Brent	Franklin's gull (missed), Pacific heron, glossy ibis
Oceanwings pelagic, Kaikoura	3 June 2002	Brent	Misc. seabirds, black petrel, albatrosses
Westport pelagic	2 June 2002	Brent	Misc. seabirds, white-headed petrel
Hokitika and West Coast	30 May - 3 June 2002	Brent	Great-crested grebe, New Zealand falcon
Foxton Beach	27-29 May 2002	Brent & Sav	Soft-plumaged petrel and other seabirds
Auckland area	24-26 May 2002	Brent	Kookaburra and sanderling
Manawatu Estuary	11 May 2002	Sav	Chestnut teal (photos)
Mercer	9 & 11 May 2002	David Lawrie	Black kite (photos)
Cook Strait Ferry and Oceanwings pelagic	20-27 April 2002	Sav	Various seabirds
Foxton Beach	31 March 2002	Sav	Phoenix petrel
Tapora and Miranda	23 & 24 March 2002	Brent	Mongolian dotterel and other waders (photos)
Whitianga pelagic	17 March 2002	Brent	Pycroft's and black petrel (photos)
Volkner Rocks/White Island	9 March 2002	Brent	Grey ternlet (photos)

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This site is maintained and copyrighted by Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ 2003. All photos (unless otherwise stated) were taken by Brent Stephenson @ Eco-Vista and are copyrighted 2003. The use of any image without permission is not allowed. However, all photos on this site are for sale, please email Brent for more information or check out Eco-Vista's website for details.
Updated last on Saturday, December 1, 2012