Fantail (Piwakawaka), Wenderholm

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Technical: Nikon D300, 300mm F2.8 VR, 1.4TC, handheld

New Zealand Fur Seal (Kekeno) at Cape Palliser

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Technical: Nikon D300, 300mm f2.8 VR lens, handheld

Morepork (Ruru) at Shakespeare Park

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The Morepork or Ruru has to be one of my favourite birds. They are nocturnal birds with amazing flying abilities. We watched this pair for a number of hours picking large moths out of the air at the entrance to Shakespeare Park. Almost silent on the wing the only noise you could hear was the sound of the large moths being ripped from the air.

Technical: Nikon D300, 300mm F2.8 VR, Tripod, 2 x SB800 off camera flash

White Faced Heron (Matuku-moana)

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Blockhouse Bay Beach reserve has great opportunities to view many White Faced Herons feeding in the shallows (as well as a number of wider shore birds). On this day the resident Herons seemed happy to roost in the surrounding pine trees. I needed every last millimiter of the 600mm lens combined with the 1.4 x tele-convertor on the Canon 1D IV giving and effective focal length of 1,100mm. Given the very dim light and the slow shutter speed of 1/125s I’m pretty happy with the image.

Technical: Canon 1D IV, 600mm IS L, 1.4TC, Tripod. 1/125s, f7.1, iso 1600.

Inverted Silvereye (tauhou)

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Technical: Canon 1D IV, 600mm IS, 1.4 TC, Tripod