A female Australasian crested grebe feeding one of its newly hatched chicks a freshwater bully on Lake Pegasus.

The Little owl, or Ruru nohinohi, is one of the three owls in New Zealand, and is the only introduced bird of prey in Aotearoa. The species was introduced sometime in the early 1900’s, only liberated in South Island, with the exception of a pair in Rotorua. This bird is one of three currently residing at Travis Wetland/Ōruapaeroa.

The majestic Toroa, or Northern Royal Albatross, is one of the largest flying birds in the world. Differentiated for the Southern Royal by it’s solid black wings, both species are endemic to New Zealand, and are considered Nationally Vulnerable. This photo was taken on the Kaikoura Albatross Encounter.

One of the most endangered species of New Zealand bird, the Southern New Zealand Dotterel is in a steep decline. Unlike its closely related Northern subspecies they are hard to find and only breed on the mountain tops of Rakiura. Their are thought to be only 126 left and unfortunately are no conservation efforts in place. This bird was found feeding along one of the bays of Rakiura, one of the last reliable places to see these incredible birds, and only accessible after a long hike.

The Banded Rail is a speedy, small rail that prefers saltwater mangroves rather than freshwater wetlands. They are rarely seen and camouflage surprisingly well into their habitat. This one was photographed creeping low amongst the mangroves of the Abel Tasman, one of the only places they can be seen in the South Island.

This common shag is found all along the New Zealand coast, with it’s distinctive black and white appearance making a lot of locals calling it a ‘Penguin’. It is also relatively common inland, though they’re noticeably lacking in numbers in several areas.

The small yet adventurous Banded Dotterel is a very distinct indicator that your on a New Zealand beach. With their chestnut chest and black stripe in breeding plumage they are a beautiful little bird. This on was on the coast of Stewart Island, where they associate with the much rarer Southern New Zealand Dotterel.

The Erect-Crested Penguin, or Tawaki Nana Hī, is an extremely rare penguin restricted to the Bounty and Antipodes Islands. Most New Zealand birders go their entire life without seeing one, but this one happened to appear on the Kaikoura Peninsula. Their population has been declining since the 1970s, when their were 230,000 breeding pairs, and now their are around 68,000 pairs.

The Fernbird (or Mātātā) is a small and secretive bird, and the Stewart Island subspecies is much harder to see and photograph due to its limited range. They rarely fly long distances, preferring to jump through low scrubs.

A happy-looking Mallard chick, photographed at Zealandia.

These birds are friendly creatures, often getting quite close, providing good opportunities for a photo.

These tiny birds are hard to see, often staying high up in the trees.

North Island Robins are a common sight around Zealandia, where this bird was photographed.

A Black-Billed Gull, a rare species of gull found across New Zealand. Photographed at Nelson Lakes National Park.

A White-Capped Mollymawk, one of the smaller species of Albatross. These birds have an impressively long wingspan, reaching over 2 metres!

A vibrant New Zealand Kaka, often seen and heard flying overhead in central Wellington.

A friendly relative of the robin, tomtits are endemic to New Zealand. This South Island Tomtit was photographed on the Makarora Nature Walk in Makarora.

White-Fronted Terns are New Zealands most common tern species, and this particular bird was photographed on Stewart Island.

A South Island Tomtit, quite a curious bird. This one was found in Makarora on the field camp organized for young birders by Aspiring Biodiversity.

An elusive yet friendly Rock Wren. Rock Wren are apart of the family Acanthisittidae, an endemic and ancient lineage, which up until 1000 years ago had 7 species. Only the Rock Wren | Pīwauwau and Rifleman | Tītitipounamu have survived till now.

Although the Little Pied Shag is the most common Cormorant species around Aotearoa’s lakes and rivers, they can be quite flighty and tricky to photograph. They have many different morphs, ranging all the way from the fully white bellied morph to a fully dark morph. This one here is inbetween the two colour morphs, with a white face.

An elusive yet friendly Rock Wren. Rock Wren are apart of the family Acanthisittidae, an endemic and ancient lineage, which up until 1000 years ago had 7 species. Only the Rock Wren | Pīwauwau and Rifleman | Tītitipounamu have survived till now.

A South Island Tomtit, quite a curious bird. This one was found in Makarora on the field camp organized for young birders by Aspiring Biodiversity.

An elusive yet friendly Rock Wren. Rock Wren are apart of the family Acanthisittidae, an endemic and ancient lineage, which up until 1000 years ago had 7 species. Only the Rock Wren | Pīwauwau and Rifleman | Tītitipounamu have survived till now.

A Southern Royal Albatross, the bird with the largest wingspan in the world. This species is differentiated from Wandering Albatross by the black cutting edge on the bill.

A sneaky gull steals a snack off a Salvin's Mollymawk. This photo was taken off Stewart Island, where we regurlarly had 20+ mollymawks behind the boat.

Several Stewart Island Shag on a rock. These birds were photographed on Whero Rock, their largest breeding colony. Whero Rock used to have a single tree on it, but the guano the shags created killed it.

A Buller's Mollymawk | Toroa staring up at the boat and waiting for more food!

The Wrybill is unique in that it is the only bird in the world with a sideways curved bill. They breed on the great braided rivers of Canterbury and Otago in spring then heading north in winter for their north-ward migration. With only around 5,000 birds left they are not that common, But there is still hope because it is thought their populations are increasing.

Seen on a pelagic off Kaikoura.

One of many seen around Arthur’s pass.

One of the two resident white heron in the Christchurch city area.

New Zealand’s only true alpine bird seen up Otira valley in Arthur’s pass.

An exrtremely rare tropical vagrant to New Zealand waters, a Lesser Frigatebird. This one stayed for a while at Home Bay on Great Mercury Island. I was lucky enough to be able to get on a boat out to see it, where we were rewarded with some close passes. These birds are known for being pirates, as they often steal food from other birds and sometimes even catch and eat seabirds.

An adult Welcome Swalow feeds it’s chick a cranefly. I was lucky to have these parents raise their chicks in my backyard!

A Wrybill feeding on small worms. Wrybill are the only species of bird with a beak turning to the side. They are endangered, with only 5000 left. They only breed along Canterbury and Otago’s braided riverbeds before they migrate north. This photo was taken at Ray’s Rest, where large numbers gather.

This Ruru glares down from its position perched in the canopy. I was lucky enough to see one of these magnifecent birds in the daylight. The Morepork | Ruru is nocturnal, and very rarely seen in the day. They’re widespread throughout the country. Many New Zealanders know about them from hearing their distinctive ‘MORE PORK!’ call at night.

The Skylark is a common bird throughout New Zealand’s farmland. Despite this they are extremely skittish and quite hard to get close to. This one didn’t seem to be bothered by me, feeding happily on some small snails just off the path at Miranda.

White Heron with... a thing, Linwood Canal.

Pied Shag drying its wings, Waikuku Beach.

Chonky male Paradise Shelduck, Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

Female Paradise Shelduck, Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

A very rare Fiordland Crested Penguin at Scarborough Boat Club that had its first sighting be posted and immediately removed on Facebook - I was very lucky to see the post at the right time.

A round Pūkeko at the eel area of Travis Wetlands.

A Bellbird that took a while to get a good photo of at Cracroft Reserve.

A surprisingly colourful Chaffinch at the eel area of Travis Wetlands.

An Australasian Little Grebe or Tokitokipio on a nest in Whangarei. This pair on the nest were very active, putting on a real show!

Buller's Shearwater or Rako, peeking out from behind a wave on a November Petrel Station trip.

A Pāteke or Brown Teal photographed at some semi-local stormwater ponds. It's exciting to see rarer birds in urban areas!

A Fernbird, also known as Mātātā, photographed in one of the Tiritiri Matangi wetlands. Although usually cryptic, this bird was in the open!

Photo taken offshore Kaikoura

Photo taken at Akaroa

Photo taken at Mt Somers

Photo taken at Lyttelton Bay

Photo taken at Akaroa

North Island Kākā at the Upper Kākā Feeders, Zealandia, Wellington. The North Island Kākā is a common feature on predator free island and in some cities like Wellington, these birds are cheeky like their relatives the Kea, and are often seen playing games with each other and climbing trees with their strong beak

This Black-billed gull | Tarāpuka was with a flock of 30 or so birds found at the Waitohu Estuary. The Black-billed gull | Tarāpuka is the worlds rarest gull and is critically endangered, and is only found in New Zealand, meaning it is endemic.

Mallard x Grey Duck hybrid pair at the Awahohonu Wetlands. the Mallard x Grey Duck hybrid is a mix of Mallard and Grey Duck genes, creating hybrids who have varying forms of plumage from mostly Grey Duck through to mostly Mallard.

Red-Billed Gull | Tarāpunga, One of a flock of 30 or so at the Waimanu Lagoons, Waikanae Beach. The Red-Billed Gull | Tarāpunga is the commonest gull on the New Zealand Coast, these birds are becoming endangered due to fishing lines becoming caught in birds. I have seen this lots of times and it’s really sad that people have become careless about or environment and what lives in it.

One of Four Royal Spoonbill | Kōtuku ngutupapa residing at the Waimanu Lagoons, Waikanae Beach. Did you know that Royal Spoonbill | Kōtuku ngutupapa are a coloniser to New Zealand, these birds flew across from Australia in the 1950s and started breeding.

A Silvereye | Tauhou at the Waitohu Wetlands. These small birds are often found on bird-feeders and in gardens. The Silvereye | Tauhou colonised New Zealand in the 1850s and has become one of New Zealand’s most common birds, more common than the House Sparrow | Tiu.

A Eurasian Skylark | Kairaka at the Waitohu Dune system. Eurasian Skylark | Kairaka were introduced to New Zealand by early settlers because they wanted something to remind them of home (England) These birds are often heard as they have a beautiful trilling call.

A White-faced heron | Matuku Moana feeding beside the creek at Mazengarb Swamp Reserve. These herons are New Zealand’s most common heron even though they only colonised New Zealand from Australia in the 1940s

One of nine Brown Teal | Pateke at the Waikanae Estuary. Brown Teal | Pateke are endangered with only 3000 or so birds remaining.

A beautiful NI Robin perches on a mossy log. These incredible birds are very tame and are very cute (like the South Island equivalent)! Unfortunately, these birds are declining because of habitat loss and introduced mammalian predation. Now the best places to see them is in predator free sanctuaries and heavily trapped areas.

Gannets are even more stunning up close! That beautiful blue eye ring, yellow head, and pure white feathers put them among New Zealand's most beautiful birds.

The iconic Clown of Mountains, Kea are the smartest birds in the world. Their intelligence rivals chimps, crows, and dolphins.

Known for being the notorious stealer of chips, Red-Billed Gull populations have suffered a hit in some of their largest colonies. All hope is not lost though for this ubiquitous bird because the colony on Taiaroa Head has experienced some substantial increases in numbers.

Fernbirds are one of the hardest birds to photograph due their quick movement and dense habitat. I was lucky to photograph this split-second moment in Abel Tasman National Park.