I'm thrilled to add yellow-crowned parakeet / Kākāriki (Cyanoramphus auriceps) to my eBird life list. My first time seeing these in the wild, on the loop track around Mt Bruce, New Zealand. #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nzbirds #parakeets

Fernbird / mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) midway between Ration Point and Motukaraka, Pāuatahanui. I love the brownish red background in this area, caused by the shrubby bushes and orangey grasses the fernbirds like to live in. #nzbirds #fernbird #birds #pāuatahanui #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand

Banded dotterels / pohowera (Anarhynchus bicinctus) at Ration Point, Pauatahanui, New Zealand. Great camouflage. #NewZealand #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026

I decided I like this shot of a Kererū in my backyard so much it's going in the 2027 Calendar. My apologies to the Scaup who was Mr October 2027 until half an hour ago. #NewZealandpigeon #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026

Did I want to be this close? No, not really. Did I have a choice? No, not really. I'm not as sprightly as I used to be - getting from a sitting position to retreat isn't always easy - fortunately it was friendly and just curious. Black swan (Cygnus atratus). #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand #nzbirds

Little black cormorant / kawau tūī (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) sharing the little wharf at the Waimanu Lagoon, Waikanae, with a bunch of red-billed gulls. #nzbirds #birding #waikanae #littleblackcormorant #NewZealand

"Okay, I'm going to have a wee nap now. Wake me in 30." Outside my kitchen window - Lower Hutt. #nzbirds #kererū #newzealandpigeon #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026

Grey duck / pārera (Anas superciliosa). Waimanu Lagoon, Waikanae. #nzbirds #birding #birdphotography #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand

Bar-tailed godwit / kuaka (Limosa lapponica) having a quick growl at a pied stilt it decided was too close. Today on the Waikanae Spit. #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand #godwit

Just a simple song thrush (Turdus philomelos). They had just finished belting out a morning composition - extended remix. #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand #songthrush

@robcrank68.bsky.social says today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Orange. How about a kākā (Nestor meridionalis), they're pretty orange if you squint. #bushparrot #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026

Sometimes you just need a wee nap, especially after a big lunch. Kererū / New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) at the Wellington Botanic Gardens. #nzbirds #newzealand #kereru #BirdsSeenIn2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #RedBeaks, any bird with Red on its beak. Plenty to choose from in New Zealand. What about one of the world's rarest birds? Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) in Taupo. #nzbirds #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Takahē

A bellbird / korimako (Anthornis melanura) slurping on some tree sap. Taupo. I just thought you guys might be interested in the behaviour. #nzbirds #birds #bellbird #SeenIn2026 #NewZealand

@alan678.bsky.social chose #Raptors as the #birdoftheday theme. How about a New Zealand falcon / Kārearea (Falco novaeseelandiae)? #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026

#BirdOfTheDay Theme is #Nesting, how could I not post this guy? Pukeko (Porphyrio melanotus), Waikanae, New Zealand. #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand

We tried out the new Petone to Wellington, NZ walkway. Great pathway, and I'm loving the piles of rocks just offshore which have already been discovered by the oystercatchers, gulls, and shags. At the Petone end you are greeted by fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa). #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand

I've provisionally called this oil painting "Moonlighting Mages", but suggestions are welcome. Thanks to my models from Hutt Art. It's nice to go somewhere where you can ask three people to sit around and act like wizards - and they don't bat an eyelid. #oilpainting #wizards #moonlight

I've been out and about photographing pukeko (Porphyrio melanotus) lately, a friend has just commissioned a painting of one - to have ready when they get back from Europe at the end of September. Yay! It's not this one, but this would make a great painting too. #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nzbirds #NewZealand

Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) looking like a traffic light popsicle. I saw a funny on an insta page: "Don't let anyone talk you out of that quick 30 minute bird watching session. Because that two hours is the most important five hours of your day." #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand

I find it so difficult to get a decent shot of a welcome swallow / warou (Hirundo neoxena) in flight. I take my hat off to anyone that manages it. As a mere mortal, I wait for them to stop for a wee rest and a stretch on a convenient perch. Pauatahanui. #nzbirds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand

Every now and then you have to use your birding lens to take a photo of the #moon. I've been waiting for this magnificent orb to become full as it is going to be a prop in my painting. All will be revealed. Does anyone else always see a snail in the dark bits (or maybe that's just the view from NZ)?

I thought this grumpy fellow from Hokitika was appropriate for the season. This painting is called "Unimpressed with the hard yard". Happy Easter everyone - I hope this guy didn't drop off too much chocolate.

A house sparrow (Passer domesticus) on a stump with some interesting orange fungus - like popcorn cheetos. With a loophole for fruit, I think this colour is nature's way of saying 'Do not eat'. Riddiford Gardens, Lower Hutt. #housesparrow #birding #NewZeland #BirdsSeenIn2026

A whitehead / pōpokotea (Mohoua albicilla) on the Highbury Fling track in Wellington, yesterday. We counted at least 20 of these birds - the most we have ever seen in one go. #nzbirds #whitehead #NewZealand #wellington #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026

A North Island robin / toutouwai (Petroica longipes), on the Highbury Fling track in Wellington, today. So nice to get out birding again. We submitted our first eBird checklist for this month - it is nice to cross a few more species off our checklists. #nzbirds #NewZealand #BirdsSeenIn2026

#birdoftheday alt is #green. How about a New Zealand bellbird / korimako (Anthornis melanura)? #birdsseenin2026 #NewZealand

A barbary dove (Streptopelia risoria) on a prickly perch at Waitārere Beach. I read with interest that the dove has been introduced several times around NZ, but doesn't survive for long in the wild. The population at the beach must have found a suitable niche. #nzbirds #birdsseenin2026 #NewZealand

A work-in-progress phone pic of a couple of delightful cuddling silvereye / tauhou (Zosterops lateralis) in an Acer palmatum (Japanese Maple). Still got the detail to do, but this is the big brush work done. Oil on canvas. #nzbirds #birdsinart #silvereyes #oilpainting #nzartist #NewZealand

"The thought before flight" - finished my white-faced heron at the Hutt Estuary. I ended up lengthening the beak - the trade-off with painting freehand rather than tracing a reference: more freedom, but occasionally some wonky proportions. Oil on stretched canvas. #nzbirds #birdart #oilpainting