Birds ahead

An admittedly frustrating day, attempting to bird watch. This morning I drove 50 kilometers down a series of paved and gravel roads for what turned out to be a phantom wetland. It was marked on my road atlas as a bird watching hotspot but after I had worked my way back into the depths of farmland, I came to the end of the road and no wetland in sight. Humph.

After my wild duck chase turned into a wild goose chase, I reluctantly turned around and drove back into town. I sat in the library for hours looking at pretty pictures of birds on the internet and learning about things to do for my upcoming trip to Stewart Island. That set me right as rain.

With renewed vigor I drove out to a place called Bushy Point, which is known to have Fernbirds. When I arrived though, the trail was dead quiet, the sun was brutal, and the tide was way out, so no birds on the mudflats either. Strike two. And that was all I needed to resign myself to a birdless day.

On my way back though I came across this sign on a random neighborhood street. I'm collecting these "watch for birds" signs, and this is a new one, the New Zealand Pigeon, or Kereru. Others I've already found include Pukeko and both the Blue and Yellow-Eyed Penguin. I can't wait to find the kiwi one.

Despite not finding any actual birds it was a good day in the end. I'm in New Zealand and that's just amazing no matter what.