Karearea - New Zealand Falcon - Falco novaeseelandiae
A rare, threatened falcon endemic to New Zealand. These are heavily cropped pictures, the bird was a very long way away! Nevertheless I am very pleased to have them as these are such rare birds and very wary of even distant human approaches. I was in open country on the Wellington coast near the Orongorongo River at Turakirae scientific reserve and as it was rainng and my gear was getting soaked, no time to embark upon an extended stalk.
The plumage suggets this is a young bird, an adult has more defined markings and the beak is yellow where it joins the face, whereas this is the juvenile grey. The legs are ligher than the adults yellow also.
Karearea - New Zealand Falcon - Falco novaeseelandiae
A rare, threatened falcon endemic to New Zealand. These are heavily cropped pictures, the bird was a very long way away! Nevertheless I am very pleased to have them as these are such rare birds and very wary of even distant human approaches. I was in open country on the Wellington coast near the Orongorongo River at Turakirae scientific reserve and as it was rainng and my gear was getting soaked, no time to embark upon an extended stalk.
The plumage suggets this is a young bird, an adult has more defined markings and the beak is yellow where it joins the face, whereas this is the juvenile grey. The legs are ligher than the adults yellow also.