KIWI

Well people. It finally happened. I saw a kiwi in the wild. Not one kiwi, but TWO. And we saw the same male twice. So three sightings in one awesome awesome evening. I love Stewart Island. This is such a cool place to be if you are a birder. I've seen albatross, mollymawks, one yellow-eyed penguin, little blue penguins, two kiwis, tuis, kereru (NZ pigeon), tomtits, kakas (a big parrot) and just wait because the list will get longer tomorrow! I'm heading back to Ulva Island. Jay and I visited this island when we were here over two years ago. There are no rats, stoats, cats, etc.... on the island. Hence the birds, which did not evolve with mammalian predators, thrive here. I plan on spending the entire day staring at birds.

I've gone hiking every day in the forest. I love listening to the birds, especially the tuis. I've also heard kiwis twice (imagine a woman screeching and you've got a kiwi noise). It is magical being back in these strange and ancient forests. I knew I loved New Zealand, but now I know how much I loved it because hearing, seeing, and smelling the forest is like a homecoming. What a place!

Buller's mollymawk

Lee Bay

Here he is! My second kiwi sighting (I didn't get an image of the female we saw first)

Tui