{"id":10522,"date":"2019-10-27T07:58:12","date_gmt":"2019-10-26T18:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/?p=10522"},"modified":"2019-10-27T07:58:21","modified_gmt":"2019-10-26T18:58:21","slug":"waitakere-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/10522","title":{"rendered":"Waitakere Birds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8549-web.jpg?resize=960%2C640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8549-web.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8549-web.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8549-web.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption>Tui singing to claim his Coral Tree<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Our trip to the Waitakeres for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/2019\/09\/going-west-writers-festival\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Going West Writers Festival (opens in a new tab)\">Going West Writers Festival<\/a> didn\u2019t have bird photography high on the agenda. Opportunities present themselves everywhere so the bird photography gear had to go along just in case. We had booked a rural cottage close to the the Arataki Vistors Centre and while unpacking our vehicle I saw a Kingfisher\/Kotare sitting up on a branch of a tortured old pine. Sitting on the porch with a coffee I saw that it was one of two using the tree as a hunting perch to locate worms on the lawn below. They would intermittently swoop down to collect a piece of animated spaghetti and return to a branch to thrash it into submission. A bit of a wander got me a few images of which this is my favourite. I managed to use the trunk of the tree as cover to conceal myself and got a view of the kingfisher just above the crook of a branch which gave a nice out of focus foreground to isolate the bird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kingfisher-D85_8095-web.jpg?resize=960%2C640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kingfisher-D85_8095-web.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kingfisher-D85_8095-web.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kingfisher-D85_8095-web.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption>Kingfisher\/Kotare<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The following day we headed to Piha after the festival and explored some of the iconic west coast landscapes. Walking back from the store after an ice-cream I noticed a Tui low in the branches of a flowering Coral Tree (also known as a Flame Tree). This was all we needed to spend half an hour or more trying to isolate him against a relatively clean background amongst all the pale branches. Despite it being a non-native tree it was nice to contrast the blue\/green iridescence of the plumage with the bright red flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8800-web.jpg?resize=960%2C640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8800-web.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8800-web.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Tui-D85_8800-web.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption>Native endemic Tui in an introduced Coral tree<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly the Coral tree is a sterile hybrid created from a North American and African species so produces no fertile seed. This along with frost-tenderenss limits its invasiveness but cuttings\/fallen branches root readily and form dense stands. This has implications for control as cutting down live trees can exacerbate the problem. Thorough ring barking or cutting or drilling with herbicide application is effective. See this <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"link from Auckland Council (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/pestplants.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz\/plant-search\/Eryxsy\" target=\"_blank\">link from Auckland Council<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photos with Nikon D850 and Nikon 500mm f5.6PF lens, Kingfisher with TC14EII 1.4x teleconverter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our trip to the Waitakeres for the Going West Writers Festival didn\u2019t have bird photography high on the agenda. Opportunities present themselves everywhere so the bird photography gear had to go along just in case. We had booked a rural cottage close to the the Arataki Vistors Centre and while unpacking our vehicle I saw [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,29],"tags":[198,26,637,638,309,634,612,629],"class_list":["post-10522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birds","category-new-zealand","tag-auckland","tag-bird-photography","tag-coral-tree","tag-flame-tree","tag-kingfisher","tag-piha","tag-tui","tag-waitakeres","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Waitakere Birds - WildLight Photography<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/10522\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Waitakere Birds - WildLight Photography\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our trip to the Waitakeres for the Going West Writers Festival didn\u2019t have bird photography high on the agenda. 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Due to regular visits to the Gannets we are familiar with Muriwai and Edin's research at Ihumoana Island took us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Black&amp;White&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Black&amp;White","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/blackwhite"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Piha-DSCF7942-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Piha-DSCF7942-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Piha-DSCF7942-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Piha-DSCF7942-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":907,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/907","url_meta":{"origin":10522,"position":2},"title":"Spring is in the Air &#8211; Nesting Shags at Sulphur Point, Lake Rotorua.","author":"tony","date":"September 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The colony of Little Shags that nests at Sulphur Point, Lake Rotorua, is a good indicator that spring is well and truly on the way. They started nest building a couple of weeks ago and now some are sitting and others still building. The birds nest in trees on a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10146,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/10146","url_meta":{"origin":10522,"position":3},"title":"Rotorua lakefront photowalk","author":"tony","date":"May 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Little Black ShagFollowing on from last week\u2019s Okareka photowalk, this week we are on a Rotorua lakefront photowalk to explore bird photography opportunities there. Little Pied ShagThe Rotorua lakefront offers plenty of opportunity to photograph birds with a steady population of shags, scaups, gulls and less numerous but regularly seen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"Welcome Swallow hawking a midge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/WelcomeSwallow-D5C_4346-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/WelcomeSwallow-D5C_4346-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/WelcomeSwallow-D5C_4346-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/WelcomeSwallow-D5C_4346-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12049,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/12049","url_meta":{"origin":10522,"position":4},"title":"Backyard Bird Hide &#8211; Developing the Setup","author":"tony","date":"April 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Backyard Bird Hide - developing the setup with perch and background control","rel":"","context":"In &quot;birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo showing a Silvereye with maple leaf background","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_4194-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_4194-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_4194-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_4194-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12023,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/12023","url_meta":{"origin":10522,"position":5},"title":"Backyard Bird Hide &#8211; Bird Photography in the time of COVID-19","author":"tony","date":"April 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Tips for back yard bird photography during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo showing a Silvereye photographed from my backyard bird hide","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_3021-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_3021-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_3021-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Silvereye-D85_3021-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}