A Bird's Life in Fiordland

Its finally happened. After going through all the stages; denial, shame, confusion. I have come to accept and love a change in me.  Granted, I have never been one of the cool kids and perhaps its a sign of my age, but there is no going back from this.

It turns out I'm really into birds. Say hello to a new bird watching recruit.
Frankly I blame New Zealand and Fiordland. Because before the move there I would of never have realised how awesome birds are.  Being set apart from the rest of the world for so long, new Zealand has a unique ecosystem.  For except for some bats and sea mammals, new Zealand's native animals are made up of birds and lizards.

From the crafty Kea, the world's only alpine parrot, to the whistling blue duck, the forest is filled with wonderful bird life.

I've begun appreciating the smallest feathered friends. Ones like the fantail and black robin, who'll dart around you trying to warn you off their patch.  They are so tiny and yet have a lot of guts. I like that.

Then there are the flightless birds, the chicken like Weka and the reclusive Kiwi bird.  One of my fellow bush workers was able to get this photo but so far I've been unsuccessful - they are just too quick for me!

My favourite of them all has to be the incredibly cheeky Kea. These birds are so smart its scary.  But they have such character and will happily pose for photographs (while its friends still the distracted photographers lunch!)

My photo success with Fiorldand birds has been limited to the less shy birds.  I only have one zoom lens for my cannon and its not all that.  Also, contending with sand flies means standing still can be a little tricky.  But let these photos be a testament of my inner bird-geekness and love of all things feathered. Except, ostriches.  They're just creepy.

Picture of Kiwi by  Andrew Knowles. All others by me.