Page 14 - 2008 NZ SUB ANTARCTIC ISLANDS - SMARTPHONE

The most enchanting is the South
Island Robin. He is a tiny round
fellow who stands very tall on long
sticklike legs. He is a slate grey
color with a creamy breast cover,
unless we are looking at his mate
who wears a lighter grey costume
with a smaller light patch on her
breast. Both sexes are amazingly
tame and curious. Their typical
foraging method is picking and
kicking among the leaf litter on the
forest floor. Evolutionary biologists
believe that they evolved to follow
much larger birds like the moas, catching the insects and invertebrates stirred up by the big-footed
birds. That behavior may explain their fearless behavior around us giant two legs. They almost
swirled between our legs and we had to be watchful to avoid stepping on them.

The island also revealed the colorful and beautiful-voiced bellbirds—hitherto we had only heard
their bell-like song but had not actually seen their colors—olive greens, yellow, and some red.
We saw baby fairy penguin chicks (now called blue penguins) nestled in boxes provided by DOC
personnel. There were brown creepers who behave rather like sapsuckers here and the colorful
New Zealand parakeets, olive green with red decorations on their heads.

After our rainy day in the Sounds, we were so delighted with the bright blue skies over our heads
on Motuara Island! The weather was cool and dry, except for the mud under our boots. We had
to keep reminding ourselves that we were the only 18 people on the island at a time and that we
were being allowed to be here for an hour and a half’s concert of bird song and art show of
beautifully feathered and patterned birds. This island paradise must be a real gem among DOC’s
many fine “jewelry” items.

The Waimaru Australasian Gannet Colony & Duffer’s Reef

Exploring another part of this Maritime Park, we went by Zodiac to a wonderful natural reserve
that has not required the intervention of concerned human beings yet though it is under DOC
administration. This was the
Australasian gannet colony that
occupies steep and craggy small
islands in this Bay. The granite
rocks rise sheerly from the dark
indigo waters and almost pierce
the clouds riding high in the
blue sky. The birds are about
the size of gulls and very busy
all the time—fishing, drying
their wings after dives, nudging
and elbowing others for space
on the precious ledges, feeding
their fuzzy gray chicks in their

14