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Ship-followers and Sunsets

10,000 Birds

The ferry hadn’t even left the dock when I got my year Black-billed Gull , a South Island breeder that winters on the coasts of North Island (actually a new one for me in Wellington) among all the Silver Gulls (or Red-billed Gulls). Not bad when I’m just standing round with a gin and tonic waiting to go!

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Petrel Paradise

10,000 Birds

Almost as soon as we were clear of the shore we encountered a pod of Short-nosed Common Dolphins and large flocks of Fluttering Shearwaters, Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Buller’s Shearwaters. It is also restricted as a breeder to the north of North Island.