Birds of New Zealand (2)

Sadly, the moa, a huge flightless bird which populated the islands of New Zealand before the Maoris arrived in the 13th century, did not survive the predation of humans. Neither, needless to say, did the giant Haast's eagle which preyed on them. Nevertheless there are still specimens to be found, like these rather stationary examples in Franz Joseph Glacier village.

Kiwis are rare, thanks to the brilliant idea of releasing European stoats into the environment. Your best chance of seeing these is on the islands where stoats are not present or 'inland islands' where they've been eradicated. (Why the stoats haven't also eliminated the pukekos, which you often see dead on the road, I don't know. Maybe they don't taste good.)

We did see kiwis in a nocturnal house in Franz Joseph. Here the local kiwis (the rowi) are subject to a conservation programme where the eggs are taken and the young birds raised safely until they are big enough to survive in the wild. Pretty sad for the parents. But it was a treat to see a very active rowi snuffling about in the undergrowth and looking very much at home.

This photo was taken outside the kiwi centre ...by a security guy who had just arrived to fill the adjacent ATM. He saw us taking solo photos and volunteered to take this, something I can't imaging happening in any other country.

If you visit Te Anau there's a free-to-visit wildlife centre run by the DOC which has several rare NZ birds including the takahe, kakapo and other native parrots.

This takahe was in Te Anau town.