A very rare bird.

[Gavin Conroy]

Today I was at a vineyard and while attempting to get myself out of being potentially stuck in my vehicle, I looked up and saw this NZ Falcon sitting on a Vineyard Post.
Some have been raised for bird control on vineyards in the Wairau Valley area however this one was way in the back of the Awatere Valley.

I rung the owner of the property to tell him I had got a photo of this bird and he informed me that this one is wild and that he has none of the DOC raised birds on his property.

Apparently this breed are more rare than the Kiwi.
I was surprised that I could get out of my ute, get the camera out of the bag and then take a photo as the bird was only 5 metres away from me!!

The owner of the property has been trying to get a photo of it for years but they are very fast as I witnessed when it took off down the valley.

By the way, if anyone is wondering, I was at work at the time.

I have seen these birds in the Wairau Valley and have wanted to get a photo of one and today I was quite lucky to see this one, let alone photograph it.

In saying that, if their is an expert out there that reckons it isnt a Falcon let me know but judging from past pictures I have seen, I am sure it is but you never know.



The view from the same vineyard.

[Dave Homewood]

That's a beautiful bird, and a fantasic photo for an impromtu shot. Nice view too!

I never realised they were that rare. I've seen a number of them round here over the years. How big was it, round abouts? Did you realise they're supposedly the most aggressive of the birds of prey?

How many birds of prey does NZ actually have? I know there's the New Zealand Falcon (Karearea, or Bush Hawk, also once known as Karewa Rewa Tara) as above, and the Harrier Hawk (Kahu), and the NZ owl Morepork (Ruru).

Plus there are wild barn owls in NZ (and my mate and I saw what must have been a crossbreed between the two - a massive Morepork with a real deep voice! It was about three times the size of the normal ones and stumped Forest and Bird when I reported it. it was in the tree in our back yard right above the deck where we were sitting and didn't mind the spotlight on it, but sadly I didn't have a camera, typical.

[Gavin Conroy]

They are amazing to watch when they dogfight .
Have seen them from a distance attacking birds and they are quite something to see.

[baz62]

Nice photos Gav although it looked like he/she was eyeing you up as a potential meal! (Might have struggled a bit getting you back to the nest lol)
Baz ;D

[flyjoe180]

Beautiful bird, never seen one of those before.