Royal Penguin on Macquarie Island by Jon Hornbuckle.
- These islands, south of Australia and New Zealand, support millions of marine mammals and birds
- Including an estimated 60 million albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters on just one of the seven island groups, which together support what may be the greatest concentration of seabirds in the world
- Seabirds which include King, Royal, Erect-crested and Snares Penguins, Wandering, Light-mantled, Buller's, Chatham and Campbell Albatrosses, and great rarities such as Chatham and Magenta Petrels
- So many birds it is possible to see over 45 species of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters
- As well as island endemics such as Auckland Teal, Auckland Snipe, Antipodes Parakeet, Snares Tomtit and Snares Fernbird
- And numerous elephant seals, fur seals and sealions
- All in one of the wildest places in the world
- New Zealand, the departure point for 18-day cruises to the Subantarctic Islands, has a highly unique flora and fauna, of which about half is endemic. Six bird families and over 50 bird species are at least breeding endemics and they include five kiwis, New Zealand Storm-petrel, Blue Duck, Black Stilt, Wrybill, Rifleman, rockwren, two saddlebacks, Stitchbird, Pipipi, Tui, Takahe, Kea, Kokakos, Kaka and Weka, while more widespread birds include numerous seabirds, from Wandering Albatross to White-faced Storm-petrel. Offshore there are also cetaceans such as Sperm Whale, and Bottlenose, Dusky and Hector's Dolphins. All these mammals and birds inhabit a degraded but nevertheless very scenic land, especially the fjords, mountains and glaciers of South Island, from where most cruises leave, out of Bluff, near Invercargill.
- During this cruise it is possible to get close enough to Rangatira (also known as Southeast Island, where landings are not permitted) in the Chatham Islands in Zodiacs to see Pitt Shag, Chatham Oystercatcher and Shore Plover, as well as Tomtit and Tui, and on shore on the main Chatham Island it is possible to see Chatham Pigeon, Chatham Shag and Chatham Gerygone, as well as Little Penguin and Double-banded Plover. However, seeing the other endemic birds of the remote archipelago is very difficult without volunteering to help out with ongoing management and research projects on small islands such as Mangere, a strict nature reserve accessible by boat from Pitt Island, where Chatham Snipe, Chatham and Red-fronted Parakeets, and hybrids between the two, as well as the remaining endemic, Black Robin, occur. The endemic albatross, with the sole breeding ground on Pyramid Rock, can be seen at sea during the Subantarctic cruise, but the two breeding endemic petrels (Chatham and Magenta) are very rare and rarely seen at sea.
Best Birds and other wildlife in the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
Birds
Subantarctic Islands Endemics 13 (Snares, Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes and Bounty Islands) Auckland Teal, Campbell Teal, Auckland Rail (Adams and Disappointment), Erect-crested Penguin, Campbell Shag, Bounty Shag, Auckland Shag, Snares Snipe, Auckland (Subantarctic) Snipe (Auckland, Campbell and Antipodes), Antipodes Parakeet, Reischek’s (Red-crowned) Parakeet (Antipodes), Snares Tomtit and Snares Fernbird.
Macquarie Island (Australia) Endemics 2 Royal Penguin and Macquarie Shag.
Chatham Islands Endemics 8 Chatham Pigeon, Chatham Shag, Pitt (Island) Shag, Chatham Oystercatcher, Chatham Snipe, Chatham Parakeet, Chatham Gerygone and Black Robin.
(Chatham (White-capped) Albatross breeds only on Pyramid Rock (mostly Sep-Apr) and ranges at sea across the south Pacific to the Humboldt Current off Chile, Chatham Petrel breeds mainly on Southeast Island (mostly Jan-May) and ranges to the east Pacific off Chile and Peru, and Magenta Petrel, also known as Taiko, breeds mostly Dec-Apr and ranges to waters off the Juan Fernandez Islands and Pitcairn in the south Pacific)
New Zealand Endemics Yellow-eyed Penguin, Shore Plover, Red-fronted Parakeet, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, New Zealand Fantail, New Zealand Tomtit, New Zealand Fernbird and New Zealand Pipit. Also a chance of New Zealand Falcon and Yellow-fronted Parakeet.
(New Zealand Storm-petrel breeds in north New Zealand (mostly Feb-Jul) and ranges at sea as far as Australia and Fiji)
Near-endemics
Australia and New Zealand 11 Fiordland Penguin, Snares Penguin, Little (Blue) Penguin, Fluttering Shearwater, Hutton’s Shearwater, Australasian Gannet, Great Pied Cormorant, Double-banded Plover (mostly Nov-Mar), Black-shouldered (Masked) Lapwing and White-fronted Tern.
Other specialities King, Gentoo and Southern Rockhopper Penguins, Antipodean, Wandering, Northern Royal, Southern Royal, Light-mantled, (Northern and Southern) Buller’s, Salvin’s, White-capped, Campbell, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses, (Latham's) White-faced Storm-petrel, Cook’s, Mottled and Westland Petrels, and Buller’s Shearwater.
Others Pacific Black Duck, Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Southern Fulmar, Blue, Cape, Great-winged, Soft-plumaged, White-chinned and White-headed Petrels, Antarctic, Broad-billed, Fairy and Fulmar Prions, Flesh-footed, Sooty and Subantarctic (Little) Shearwaters, Black-bellied, Grey-backed and Wilson’s Storm-petrels, Common Diving-petrel, White-faced Heron, Swamp Harrier, Kelp and Silver (Red-billed) Gulls, Antarctic Tern, Brown Skua, Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Welcome Swallow and Silvereye. Also a chance of Grey and Kerguelen Petrels, and Short-tailed Shearwater. Introduced species include Weka, Eurasian Skylark, Common Starling, Eurasian Blackbird, Song Thrush, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch and European Goldfinch.
Mammals
Southern Elephant Seal, New Zealand Fur Seal and New Zealand (Hooker’s) Sealion. Also a chance of Killer, Sperm,
Gray’s Beaked and Long-finned Pilot Whales, (Common) Bottlenose and Southern Right Whale Dolphins, and Subantarctic Fur Seal.
Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
Auckland Shag by Jon Hornbuckle.
- Snares Island Snares Penguin, (Southern) Buller’s Albatross, Common Diving-petrel, Sooty Shearwater (3-6 million are estimated to nest on this island), Tomtit and Snares Fernbird.
- Enderby Island, Auckland Islands Auckland Teal, Auckland Shag, Auckland Snipe, Yellow-eyed Penguin, Southern Royal and (nesting) Light-mantled Albatrosses, Double-banded Plover, Red-crowned Parakeet, New Zealand Bellbird, Tui and Tomtit. Also a chance of New Zealand Falcon.
- Carnley Harbour, Auckland Islands Yellow-eyed Penguin, (Gibson’s) Wandering and White-capped Albatross colonies, New Zealand Bellbird, Tui and Tomtit. Also a chance of New Zealand Falcon and Yellow-crowned Parakeet.
- Macquarie Island Gentoo, King, Royal and Southern Rockhopper Penguins, Macquarie Shag, Southern Giant Petrel (including white morphs) and Southern Elephant Seal.
- Campbell Island Campbell Shag, Southern Rockhopper and Yellow-eyed Penguins, Campbell, Light-mantled and Southern Royal Albatrosses, and Auckland Snipe. Also an outside chance of Campbell Teal.
- Antipodes Island Erect-crested and Southern Rockhopper Penguins, Antipodes and Reischek's Parakeets, and New Zealand Pipit.
- Bounty Islands Bounty Shag, Erect-crested Penguin, Salvin’s Albatross and Fulmar Prion.
- Pyramid Rock, Chatham Islands Chatham Albatross.
- Rangatira (Southeast Island), Chatham Islands, offshore Zodiac cruise Pitt Shag, Shore Plover, Chatham Oystercatcher, Tui and Tomtit. Also a chance of Black Robin (introduced).
- Chatham Island, Chatham Islands Little Penguin, Double-banded Plover, White-fronted Tern, Chatham Pigeon, Chatham Shag and Chatham Gerygone.
- Tuku Private Nature Reserve, Chatham Islands Weka, Chatham Pigeon, Red-fronted Parakeet, Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Tui, New Zealand Fantail and Chatham Gerygone.
- Sweetwater, Chatham Islands The Taiko Trust sometimes invites passengers to Sweetwater, for a suitably large donation, to see the extremely rare Magenta Petrel in the hand.
- Mangere Island, Chatham Islands, offshore Zodiac cruise A chance of Chatham Parakeet.
Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
Cruises usually operate in November.
Recommended Bird Books etc. for the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand by B Heather and H Robertson. Penguin, 2015 (Fourth Edition).
The Hand Guide to the Birds of New Zealand by H Robertson and B Heather. Penguin, 2015 (Second Edition).
Birds of New Zealand: A Photographic Guide by P Scofield and B Stephenson. Auckland University Press, 2013.
Birds of New Zealand: Locality Guide by S Chambers. Arun Books, 2014 (Fourth Edition).
Field Guide to the Wildlife of New Zealand by J Fitter. Helm, 2010.
Bradt Travel Guide: New Zealand Wildlife by J Fitter. Bradt, 2009.
Apps etc.
Birds of New Zealand.
Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
Many trip reports, some for the Subantarctic Islands, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to the Subantarctic Islands. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to the Subantarctic Islands' below.
- The best website for trip reports is CloudBirders
- but these are also worth a look
- Birdtours
- Fatbirder
- Jon Hornbuckle
- Mammal Watching
Bird and wildlife guides specializing in the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.
Ship-board accommodation in the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.
While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.
Tour companies who are running organized tours to the Subantarctic Islands in the next couple of years include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.
