It’s not very often you find yourself face-to-face with a native pigeon! On one of my recent trips to Zealandia I bumped into a kererū/wood pigeon that was happily munching on leaves just beside one of the main tracks. It was not bothered by people at all and even allowed some visitors to come close and snap some photos on their phones.
Seeing the kererū was one of the highlights of my day, but also was getting close to a little riroriro/grey warbler and getting some nice photos! My usual visits to Zealandia revolve around finding the tiny tītipounamu/rifleman and I managed to find a pair that hadn’t been seen in a while. It’s always exciting seeing these tiniest of tiny birds, I didn’t manage to get any amazing photos but one to show just how sneaky these birds are. They are always hiding behind leaves or branches, or they’re high up in the canopy where the lighting is terrible. They really are a challenge, but I think that’s why I love finding them so much!
