Naomi Weisman is a Canadian-Australian mother of three who loves to ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
Over the last few years, I have wondered if I will become a bird-watcher during the final few decades of my life.
At my cottage growing up, my grandmother had bird feeders all over the place—finch feeders, hummingbird feeders, and birdseed out to attract cardinals, blue jays, and robins. She would sit in her chair by the window with her crossword book in her lap and marvel at the many birds coming to visit. Her love of this pastime is a pleasant memory for me.
Years ago, when I was on holiday with my ex-husband in Belize, we went on an excursion to the north of the country to see Mayan ruins. To get there, we had to travel in small boats along a jungle river. Well, it so happened that several bird-watchers, wearing funny clothing with filthy feet, were included in our group on a quest to see a Scarlet Macaw (a huge red parrot) so they could check it off their list.
Weka Bird
In our little boat, an American couple had a bird book in their laps. While we were traveling along, looking at the sights around us, a very colorful bird flew past my face. I exclaimed, “Wow, what was that?” The woman replied, “Page 384”, and handed me the book to see for myself. Sure enough, the answer to my question was right there in black and white for me to see on page 384. She knew that book from cover to cover!
Since 2009, during my yearly visits to Australia to see family, I have become increasingly interested in birds. Australia has the most fabulously colorful birds, which are commonplace anywhere you go and typically only seen in cages, where I’m from Canada. Some examples are Sulphur-crested cockatoos, Crimson Rosellas, Kookaburras, Blue-faced Honey-eaters, and Ring-necked parakeets, to name a few.
Usually, at around 5:00 p.m., the deafening sounds of crowds of cockatoos, galahs, parrots, and lorikeets are enough to send you inside so you can hear yourself think!
My partner and I traveled to New Zealand at the beginning of this year. We spent three weeks seeing the sights, hiking in incredible places, and looking for the elusive wildlife indigenous to the country. In sharp contrast to Australia, no creepy critters can slither out unexpectedly and kill you. There are also not very many birds that make themselves seen.
Most of the birds native to New Zealand are ground-nesting. When the British arrived to colonize the islands, they introduced many non-native species like stouts, ferrets, deer, foxes, and rabbits. Some of these animals have decimated the native bird life by raiding the ground nests and eating the eggs. Many are in grave peril of becoming extinct. For this reason, we were particularly interested in seeing some of these endangered birds.
A Sole Sister we met and rambled within Auckland suggested visiting a wildlife sanctuary in Wellington called Zealandia, a lush forest full of rare native wildlife. It is the world’s first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary, boasting 225 hectares (500+ acres). This groundbreaking conservation project has reintroduced 18 species of native wildlife back into the area, some of which were previously absent from mainland New Zealand for over 100 years.
Here, we could see Takahe, which is essential to the Maori culture; Kaka, which was almost wiped out but is now thriving within the sanctuary; and a Rifleman, which is the smallest bird in New Zealand. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to see the nocturnal Kiwi, whose numbers have been dwindling at a scary rate.
Takahe Bird
While rambling up in the mountains, in a place called Arthur’s Pass, we saw a few Kea, an eggplant-colored parrot known as a big pest, and the South Island Robin, a blue/gray color with a white chest. In other places along the way, such as the Abel Tasman and Fiordland national parks, we also saw the bright green Kakariki, the adorable Fantail, Tui, and a few Weka.
Kakariki Bird
The many rambles we experienced in New Zealand and Australia, with the incredible birds we’ve spotted, have cemented in my mind that I am destined to become a bird-watcher. I might even get a vest with excessive pockets, and zip-away pants to match my binoculars!
READ MORE > Ramble Logs, Rambler Cafe Newsletter
Leave a comment