Whanganui is home to a very rare bird. The Nankeen night heron are known only to breed along the Whanganui River. I have been to Whanganui in search of them in the past with little success. Yesterday was a different story. The herons were out and about, and happy to pose for the many cameras pointed in their direction.
They are much smaller than other herons I have photographed, and their call is much louder. You cannot miss them when they are calling each other! The Nankeen night herons are originally from Australia, and found their way to New Zealand around 30 years ago. All this time and many New Zealander’s have never seen or heard of them. Up until a couple of years ago I could count myself among them.
I especially like their colouring with their soft cream bellies, dusky salmon pink cheeks and slightly darker back and wings. In contrast their eyes are very dark, clear and piercing. Their hearing is excellent also. They could hear the camera clicks and often responded by turning to eyeball the many photographers.
Most of the time they were just keeping an eye on their youngster or were busy preening themselves. This made for some interesting images as you can see below. It might seen a long way to go, from Upper Hutt to Whanganui just to photograph a bird, but I am so pleased we made the effort. These birds are so special.
