A night under the stars with Kiwis

Our “Beaks and Feathers” outing between 21:45 and about 23:30 took place in calm and clear conditions with a fabulous night sky showing the Milky Way beautifully. The aurora was expected and it did not disappoint, though it did not last long and was not very extensive.

About 8 Stewart Island Kiwis (also called the Tokoeka) were watched in infra-red light. Most interesting was a chase of an adult female by two sub-adult males, which involved fast running back and forth with squeals and tripping and rapid changes of direction. There was also some prolonged calling by males from the adjacent woodland.
All in all a fantastic experience and one hard to convey in words and phone videos alone.Read more