Platalea regia

What a day. It was hard to do but I left Oamaru finally, after morning coffee and reluctant goodbyes with Miss A. I drove down to Dunedin, opting for the coast roads over the highway at every possible point. After I checked into my hostel in town, I headed out to the much-anticipated Otago Peninsula in search of waders. The hilly peninsula has all kinds of inlets and estuarine areas for shorebirds and waterfowl to congregate. I saw two new species, including the Grey Teal and this stunner right here, the Royal Spoonbill.

I am so very excited about this bird. It's the second of the six spoonbill species I've ever seen. Bird blipper extraordinaire dbifulco just posted an entry of my first, the Roseate Spoonbill, which is found in Texas and Florida. These wonderfully weird birds are in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. Each one of the six is distinct and incredibly beautiful. The Royal is the only one with those striking head plumes. It's found primarily in southeast Australia and New Zealand.

The spoonbills feed by sweeping their partially open bills in a c-shape through the water, snapping them shut when they hit something edible. Because of their strange spatulate bill, watching them navigate the most basic bird tasks--eating, preening, yawning--is endlessly fascinating.

After touring the estuaries I headed out to the end of the peninsula, the site of the Royal Albatross colony. As soon as I parked and stepped out of the car, a massive albatross sailed overhead, gliding on the wind. I saw them just a few weeks ago on my seabird cruise off Kaikoura (albeit between bouts of spewing over the side) but I was struck anew by their incomprehensible size. I felt like a kid watching them pass overhead, even more so than I usually do around the birds.