What kinds of birds might we see in the CBD in Auckland and Sydney?

Hello,

We want to get some good shots of local birds and will be staying and wandering in and around both CBD" of Auckland and Sydney. Could someone tell me if I have to search them out or are they easy to spot? Do I need to be in a park or botanical garden? And with regards to Sydney, will we be able to see flying foxes?

Thanks much!

The botanical gardens are right next to the Opera House and that's your best bet for seeing flying foxes. There is a huge colony of them there.

You'll definitely see ibis but I'm not sure what else. This might help https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/welcome/royal_botanic_garden/gardens_and_domain/wildlife

The botanical gardens are right next to the Opera House and that's your best bet for seeing flying foxes. There is a huge colony of them there.

 

You'll definitely see ibis but I'm not sure what else. This might help https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/welcome/royal_botanic_garden/gardens_and_domain/wildlife

Thank you so much for the link! It has fantastic information and will be easy to get to. We are staying several days post cruise in Sydney and wanted to find things to do. It looks like this will be on our list.

There will be plenty of sparrows and seagulls in the CBD, but to see a variety of native birds you would need to head off to a park or up into the Ranges.

If you are only here for the one day you could take the HopOn Hop Off bus get off at the Museum and wander through the bush walks in the Auckland Domain.

The Tuis should be around then , probably feeding their young. You will probably hear them before you see them:)

http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/branches/central-auckland/bird-watching

We've stayed in Sydney twice post-cruise and my birdwatcher husband has thoroughly enjoyed the Royal Botanic Gardens. On both visits we stayed at the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay so walked through the gardens every day.

Celebrity Cruises naturalist Don Enright (http://www.donenrightcom) has a website which Duck Duck Cruise may find interesting. Under "My World" scroll down to Australia-Oceania where he has posted photos of a recent trip there.

And a quick question for those who live in Sydney: When we first visited Syndey in 2011 the number of flying foxes n the Royal Botanic Gardens was stunning and really rather appalling as they were causing significant damage to some of the specimens. But when we spent a few days there again in October 2014 we didn't see a single flying fox in the gardens. We asked one of the groundskeepers what had happened, and he told us they moved away en masse. He speculated that they likely could return just as quickly as they left and wasn't very optimistic that the damage problem had solved itself. Have they returned?

Hi, I know you mentioned staying in and around Auckland CBD, but if you wanted to see a good variety of birds, you might consider taking a ferry ride from Auckland CBD over to Tiritiri Matangi Island,an open bird sanctuary, for the day.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attraction_Review-g255106-d3701674-Reviews-Tiritiri_Matangi_Island-Auckland_North_Island.html

http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/

http://www.360discovery.co.nz/timetables-fares/tiritiri-matangi-island-timetable.php

And a quick question for those who live in Sydney: When we first visited Syndey in 2011 the number of flying foxes n the Royal Botanic Gardens was stunning and really rather appalling as they were causing significant damage to some of the specimens. But when we spent a few days there again in October 2014 we didn't see a single flying fox in the gardens. We asked one of the groundskeepers what had happened, and he told us they moved away en masse. He speculated that they likely could return just as quickly as they left and wasn't very optimistic that the damage problem had solved itself. Have they returned?

Haven't seen things recently, but they had moved on last year thanks to a noise program encouraging them to disperse, started a few years back.

More info here: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/heavy-metal-wins-in-botanic-battle-of-the-bats-20130629-2p3v3.html

In Sydney CBD without visiting the parks etc Sparrows, Pigeons, Sea Gulls down near the harbour, maybe some magpes, pee wees and crows.

Hyde Park and Botanic Gardens you may see a Kookaburra.

Should see Flying Foxes at Botanic Gardens.

Here are several interesting/different birds that I captured with my camera from early last year as our ship was getting ready to depart scenic Sydney.

Clearly, the best birds seen were in places such as Kangaroo Island and more nature-focused regions of New Zealand. Napier might have been the best with their amazing Gannets shown below as they were nested at Cape Kidnappers.

More details and visuals on my live/blog connected below. Happy to share more and answer any questions. These are all wonderful, unique areas.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 120,303 views for this posting.

As we were walking back to the docked Solstice, here is an interesting White Ibis (I think that is the bird’s name) with its unique long beak. Plus, you can see the ship and harbor area/activity shown in the background:

From our balcony on the port side in Sydney's scenic harbor, we had great and up-close views of their spectacular Bridge and historic Rocks area. Plus, after our first breakfast there, here are views of an Aussie feathered bird friend paying a nice visit to our dining table and working hard to help "clean up"!! Fun!!:

Here are some of the famed gannets at this Napier location. This is just one small sampling of many big groups of these super cute birds at this location. Since we were so close, we could BOTH see . . . and SMELL them very vividly!! At twelve miles SE of Napier, this area hosts a protected breeding site for over 6,500 pairs of Australasian gannets. These birds (takapu) are one of three species of gannet belonging to the booby family. They have been nesting at Cape Kidnappers since the 1870's. This location is the largest and most accessible mainland colony in the world. This headland was named after an attempt by local Māori to abduct the servant of a member of Captain Cook's crew aboard HMS Endeavour, during a landfall there in October 1769.:

Here is one of the soaring birds here at Cape Kidnappers that I captured with my camera. Is there a better-looking bird that this one?:

The flying foxes are still on holiday (Fruit Bats)

The ibis as pictured is considered to be a pest and as such you will find them everywhere… don't put down anything light weight or have an open bag as they will steal things.

Seagulls are scavengers too, they'll be everywhere.

Hyde Park sometimes has cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets, but there needs to be some flowering gums in bloom so it will depend on when you are here.

I'd suggest heading out to Watsons Bay and walking out along the gap path or along the harbour side track or the Manly to Spit walk.

If you do a day trip to the Blue Mountains then you will have an even higher chance of birds.

http://sydneybats.org.au

The ibis are common in the city but they don't do anything annoying to people. Compare with say seagulls which get vocal, and especially demanding/upfront if you have food, and raid tables at cafes if food is unattended.

Ibis are quite placid, and nice to have around.

The ibis are common in the city but they don't do anything annoying to people. Compare with say seagulls which get vocal, and especially demanding/upfront if you have food, and raid tables at cafes if food is unattended.

 

Ibis are quite placid, and nice to have around.

Unless you have your lunch in a plastic bag or an open back pack or want to lay in the gardens in the sun

Personally I find them a big nuisance and they have become increasingly more agrees ice as they compete for food

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/the-ibis-a-native-bird-misunderstood-20150212-13dl93.html

Unless you have your lunch in a plastic bag or an open back pack or want to lay in the gardens in the sun

 

Personally I find them a big nuisance and they have become increasingly more agrees ice as they compete for food

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/the-ibis-a-native-bird-misunderstood-20150212-13dl93.html

Good article.

Haven't had any issues with eating or anything else with them around. Haven't even seen them fighting over food or anything like that either, which you see all the time with seagulls.

Oh… I have RBG and Hyde Park lunch times'

turn your back and the plague hits,,,

they are more subtle than the gulls