BotanicAves
While filming Dunnocks at the Dunedin Botanic gardens, I noticed many other species of birds which emerged at different times of the day. Though I was tempted to get some footage of these birds, I couldn’t as I had to focus on the job at hand, which was to get as much footage of the Dunnocks as possible. I went back to the gardens a few days later, this time with my stills camera and started looking for these birds. I had no clue what time they would come out, how long they would stay or even if I could get close enough to get a decent photograph.
So I waited, walked up and down the gardens a few times. The first bird I spotted was a Fantail. This funny little bird hovered around me for a while letting me get very close. Fantails are generally easy to approach as they look for insects that we stir up while walking.
Also called the Piwakawaka, Fantails are extremely restless birds. They get their name from their tail-feathers which resemble a fan when fully spread. Their tail helps them hover in a single spot like a helicopter.
Fantail with tail-feathers spread
The next day, higher up in the gardens, I spotted a few Silvereyes. Silvereyes are approachable to an extent. As long as I walk quietly and not make any sudden movements, they don’t seem to be too bothered however close I get to them.
The Silvereye is also called Tauhou in New Zealand and Whiteeye in other parts of the world. These birds breed between the months of September and February. If I am lucky, I should be able to capture some breeding behavior and nest building this season.
One of the birds that was annoyingly hard to photograph was the Grey Warbler. These guys like treetops and are hard to spot most of the time. So I decided to head up to the upper gardens where I could find smaller trees. I was following yet another Fantail when I saw a little Warbler frantically hopping down the branches of the tree next to me. Warblers cannot stay still for more than a second. They look like they are on a constant sugar rush. They get hyperactive when they are on the hunt for insects and all I could do was to be as frantic as the warbler and take as many pictures as possible in the hope that at least one or two would turn out good. Luckily, the warbler was close enough for me to get some decent shots.
The Maori name for Warbler is Riroriro. They weigh about 6.5 grams and are tiny, slightly larger than a human thumb.
Over a period of three days I had seen quite a few species, not all of which I could photograph. I couldn’t get within a hundred feet of a few birds, however slowly I crept up to them. Towards the end of the third day I spotted a Song Thrush standing at the foot of a tree. Initially I thought it was a female Blackbird but after going through my identification list back at home, I realized it wasn’t.
Song Thrushes were introduced to New Zealand from Europe in the 1860′s and are now fairly common in gardens, scrub, native forests, orchards and exotic plantations. Their song is a string of repeated, clear musical phrases.
To see such a variety of bird life in a small area is quite astonishing. It goes to show how these creatures can easily adapt themselves to a human environment if only we can maintain natural spaces like the botanic gardens.
There are many more species in Dunedin that I’d like to capture. Will put them up here as soon as I manage to.
