Two Visits To Ulva Island

We took two trips to Ulva Island to see the rare birds living there.

On the first trip we showed up at the dock and met Peter the Captain. 

He had captured a small octopus in a cup and let me get a picture of it before setting it free.

A teeny tiny cephalopod

As we were waiting for our 9:30 am departure, a lady brought her Jack Russel pup who was specially triained to hunt for mice and rats on Ulva. The dog's name was Gadget and she took an immediate shine to Alex. (I'm pretty sure she saw him as a fellow puppy.) 

By the end of the day they had become mates.

On Ulva, we saw Stewart Island Robbins which hopped around and waited for us to scratch up some bugs for them. 

When we sat on a bench to look at the forest two of them came to perch beside us. Alex decided they were getting too close and waved them away.

We also saw Weka, Kakariki, Kereru, Bellbirds, Tuis and Oyster Catchers. 

When the Weka started throwing leaf litter around while looking for breakfast Alex decided he was being untidy and told him, "No, no!"

Alex shares a seat with a friendly Robin.

Hunting for bugs

A Weka approaches

The next day we returned with a group of four Americans-a mother and daughter and two guys who were on their way back to the States after a semester of study in Australia.

Gadget meets Alex

Alex meets Gadget

Hanging Out

I ended up giving both groups a walking tour stuffed to the brim with bird facts. The two guys had named the tui "the R2D2 bird" and called the Oyster Catchers "Halloween Birds." When I pointed out a Weka to them they asked if it was a Kiwi. 

I didn't want to talk their ears off about birds to whole trip (yes I did) so I sat down with Alex on a bench and let them get on down one of the trails.

One of the guys came rushing back about two minutes later and explained in an excited whisper that he and his friend had spotted a Kiwi.

My first thought was "it's probably a Weka" but I followed him with rising hope. 

Some New Zealanders go their whole lives never seeing a Kiwi in the wild but Ulva and Stewart islands are the place to spot them. 

The overhead tree cover on Ulva is so dense and the sky so cloudy that the forest remains relatively dark and the bird will actually become active during the day.

Sure enough, nosing around below the ferns was a giant brown Kiwi. I was so excited to see it.

My fatal mistake came when I tried to put Alex down so I could get my camera out of my backpack. 

He immediately went into meltdown mode and screamed "Muuuuum!"

The Kiwi tore up a hill and I was able to just capture a blurry shot of its butt before it disappeared into the bush.

Center of the photo disappearing behind the tree: a kiwi butt.

 On the way to Boulder Beach a Weka came out of the forest and took a careful peck at my gumboots. On the shore we sat by the bush line and saw a baby Weka take food from its foraging parents. A Tomtit and a juvenile Saddleback came to see what we were doing and two tuis were chasing each other in the trees.

When Peter returned for us we gave him our tickets which were leaves of the muttonbird scrub.

We said goodbye to magical Ulva Island and returned to our hotel for an afternoon nap.