Michele Mackenzie Photography

Michele Mackenzie Photography In New Zealand..... Birds are my passion, I love to study and photograph them and tell people about them in my posts.

I want you to see what I see, how truly special and amazing they are.

Some photos from today.Our beautiful Dotterels, one very tiered one.I noticed the Godwits seem to be very advanced in th...
04/02/2025

Some photos from today.
Our beautiful Dotterels, one very tiered one.
I noticed the Godwits seem to be very advanced in their breeding plumage getting ready for their northern migration, its only the beginning of Feb.
The weather has been feeling more autumn in Auckland north than summer though, no wonder they are as confused as my garden.

Its migration time but theres so much more involved than a bird just flying to avoid a winter.Below are a few things to ...
30/10/2024

Its migration time but theres so much more involved than a bird just flying to avoid a winter.

Below are a few things to think about and theres so much more. For example birds are known to follow the earths magnetic lines on their migration routes therefore changes in their migration routes could potentially alert us to deviations or weaknesses in the earths magnetic field.

This is one of the slides off a presentation I did on migration, the photo is of Wrybills I took in the Firth of Thames.

When you do that unbelievable non stop flight from Alaska and try to rest and recover in a sandstorm
26/10/2024

When you do that unbelievable non stop flight from Alaska and try to rest and recover in a sandstorm

Today the 12th of October is World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)To acknowledge our incredible global migratory birds I have ...
12/10/2024

Today the 12th of October is World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)
To acknowledge our incredible global migratory birds I have chosen these photos.

These are Bar Tailed Godwits that has just migrated 12,000 kms non stop from Alaska. Look how worn and tattered their feathers are. It really shows how difficult the flight is as their feathers would have been in prime condition before they left Alaska

They don't glide, they flap their wings all the way without stopping, eating, drinking, sleeping or landing.

The worn feathers say it all, one of the wonders of our planet.
Some people call them Moon birds.

Yesterday with that terrible weather, strong winds, heavy rain then hail I was concerned about the Song Thrush nest outs...
17/09/2024

Yesterday with that terrible weather, strong winds, heavy rain then hail I was concerned about the Song Thrush nest outside my kitchen window, she's sitting on eggs.

This is what I found.
She had hunkered down and completely spread her wings over the top of the nest, hanging on for dear life as the wind was throwing the tree around trying to stop any rain or hail getting in, damaging her mud lined nest or cooling/wetting her precious eggs.

I didn't realize they did this, its pretty clever and it was very cool to see.
Its not the best photo as I was trying to photograph into the dark through a wet window and branches as the tree was thrown about but I thought you may enjoy seeing it too, if you look you can see a couple of small hailstones on the nest under her wing by the big branch.
Aren't our birds just amazing. She is still on her nest this morning so has saved her precious eggs.

Its right in full migration time for our migratory birds that spend our winters in the northern hemisphere.We have this ...
17/09/2024

Its right in full migration time for our migratory birds that spend our winters in the northern hemisphere.
We have this terrible polar vortex bringing very strong winds up from the Southern ocean.
Our Godwits who are flying non stop from Alaska will be hitting this headwind as they get close to NZ and are exhausted from flying such a distance, their fuel reserves and energy will be very low.
Some may be forced to detour and I always worry some just wont make it. Then theres the rain, their feathers are worn and their waterproofing will be low, how do they manage it I wonder?
Theres still so much we are learning about these birds.
Of those that do arrive after battling this storm they will be past exhausted so please give them lots of space to recover.
Thanks
The photo is from a couple of days ago of some of our Godwits arriving.

Its World Penguin Day today.I have got to know Little Blue penguins quite well they are one of the smallest and I think ...
25/04/2024

Its World Penguin Day today.

I have got to know Little Blue penguins quite well they are one of the smallest and I think the cutest penguins in the world.

I have rescued quite a few but sadly none have survived, they have either been so sick and emaciated they were in the last stages of organ failure or had been attacked and had to be euthanized.

The close up of the beautiful Little Blue is at the zoo where it lives now as it had to have a flipper amputated due to a dog attack so can not be returned to the wild.

Our penguins come ashore to molt and can not return to the sea until their new feathers are all through and waterproof, they molt all their feathers. This starts in February and March, it takes them 3-4 weeks to do this so they are very vulnerable ashore and on beaches. Penguins have about 10,000 feathers, three to four times the feather density of birds that can fly. It takes a lot of energy to replace them so they don't feel well or energetic.

There are six species of penguin that breed on New Zealand’s mainland or offshore islands. Four of these are endemic, found nowhere else in the world – the yellow-eyed, Fiordland crested, Snares crested and erect-crested penguins. The remaining three species breed in the region of Antarctica administered by New Zealand.

Learn and enjoy NZ's special wildlife. We have some of the most unique in the world. Next time you have a $5 note theres one of our Yellow eyed penguins on it, one of the worlds rarest penguins, they are very special.

Happy penguin day to you all.

How very special Auckland Zoo has done a post about ERU the flagged Dotterel I spotted and photographed which has photos...
19/12/2023

How very special Auckland Zoo has done a post about ERU the flagged Dotterel I spotted and photographed which has photos of when it was a chick.

There were so many people involved saving this chick, its wonderful to be able to follow its life and gives us valuable information about its movements to be able to understand and help this species in the future.

The world has changed so much for them, they are an endemic shorebird however we are now seeing this species nest inland on industrial sites. Reporting flagged, banded birds is so important for this and also gives much joy to the people involved in their lives knowing they are still alive and flourishing.

Keep your eyes fixed firmly on your goals and don't get bogged down in the mud.(Juvenile White Faced Heron)
11/12/2023

Keep your eyes fixed firmly on your goals and don't get bogged down in the mud.

(Juvenile White Faced Heron)

This little NZ Dotterel has an incredible story.Meet White flag ERU, affectionately named Takarangi when released at Om...
04/12/2023

This little NZ Dotterel has an incredible story.

Meet White flag ERU, affectionately named Takarangi when released at Omaha in late 2021.

Little Eru was rescued as a chick, a mere ball of fluff, from between the railway tracks near Britomart train station in downtown Auckland.
Weak and near death he/she was rushed to Auckland zoo for care, the wonderful zoo vets and staff hand raised ERU and bought him/her back to health.

Three weeks later ERU was well enough to be taken back to where he/she was found to join its parents and sibling, the same site where they had bred and Eru was found.
The reunion went well at first but then the parents started attacking ERU, Dotterels can be quite vicious, it didnt go well so it was a mad dash to gather ERU up again and then it was back to the zoo until fledged. ERU was then taken north to Omaha, named and released.

Since ERU's release in late 2021 there have been a couple of sightings however none since August 2022 so ERU was less than a year old at the last sighting and had, had such a challenging start to life.

Last week while I was going to check on some birds just by chance I spotted a lone Dotterel in the Sandspit carpark and when it moved I saw the white flag ERU, I was quick to write it down then grab my camera to try and get some photos.

So many people were involved in saving and raising this precious endemic shorebird, you do get so attached to them and theres only around 2500 of them. By seeing this bird and sending the banding information in, theres going to be lot of people that will be very happy to know ERU, Takarangi is still alive, especially after all the terrible storms have caused massive losses.

Its also crucial information in understanding their movements and species health so please check out birds legs for band/flags and report the info to the DOC banding office if you see any.

What a special wee bird and such a wonderful, happy story right on Christmas, Fly safe little ERU Takarangi, next season you should breed so if you are seen we will know if your a he or a she.

I was so very lucky to get a few photos of this very rare visitor to NZ earlier this month. Its a Eurasian Whimbrel, les...
25/10/2023

I was so very lucky to get a few photos of this very rare visitor to NZ earlier this month. Its a Eurasian Whimbrel, less than 50 visit NZ a year though Im not sure on the last few years stats.

They are a Northern Hemisphere bird that Im not familiar with, from what I can see are mainly in northern Europe, North America and Alaska where they breed, they do come down to Africa and northern Asia to winter it seems. I shall study up on them.

I had just got to the beach and got my binoculars to check a flock of Godwits for flags, bands and to do a head count, I had counted about quarter of the flock when I spotted it so quickly grabbed my camera however they got spooked by some bossy Oystercatchers and were off, 500 meters down the beach.

I almost got to them and they were spooked again to flight, praying to the gods for just one photo I was in pursuit as I had only seen it for a split second before it took off.

It was there less than 10 minutes however I managed to get a few photos before the entire flock went to flight and split into 3 groups, I couldn't find it after that. In the short time it was there it went to flight did a small circuit and landed again. when it flew it was very talkative and had such a lovely, distinctive call.

What a beautiful, very special rare bird.

Despite the appalling weather Auckland has endured this year the first Dotterel chicks have hatched for the season.Usual...
27/09/2023

Despite the appalling weather Auckland has endured this year the first Dotterel chicks have hatched for the season.
Usually at this site they start laying the beginning of August so a little late this year.
I was photographing these little fluff balls from over 40 meters so not the best images however I thought you would like to see this year first new chicks.
Though not the mum of course I just had to include a recent photo of our beautiful Little Dott, she hasnt laid as yet and the parents of these chicks were obscured by vegitation.

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