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The way to see New Zealand Birds

Mum and five ducklings.

Birding with foris eco-tours is all about you. We specialize in helping our clients find the birds they can’t.

A great example is the bird below.

The bird below is a blue duck or whio. These birds are rather rare peculiar ducks with extraordinary adaptions. Their preferred habitat is fast-flowing, clean, back country stream and rivers often with territory up to 5km long! They have a peculiar fleshy appendage on their bill to help gather invertebrates of the rocks and large flippers to give them the necessary horsepower in swift-flowing currents. Not to mention a slate grey colour that blends into their surroundings.

Blue duck or whio demonstrating its fabulous camouflage.

Blue duck or whio demonstrating its fabulous camouflage.

We got a call from some lovely Australian birders who had been to 30 sites to find a whio without success. But having spent a lot of time in the field we know where a pair were likely to be hanging out. A wee drive and sneak later we found a lovely pair with 5 ducklings! Good bird, Great view!

Needless to say, we finished the day with happy birders.

Mum and five ducklings.

Mum and five ducklings.

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