BirdingNZ.net

I feel as though there is competition that restricts mallards, domestic pigeons, sparrows and starlings without the need for peregrine falcons to keep them in check. Karearea aren't super abundant despite these food items. It would be interesting to see if a pair ever make it here... Perhaps just as likely would be if a dispersing juvenile comes over and maybe shacks up with a native bird

I’m suprised that the wedge tailed eagle has not reached NZ yet. It occurs throughout most of Australia in all environments and just a single storm could see a new vagrant arrive here.

As a small footnote to all this, there is one bird on the original list which I have come across in New Zealand - the Eastern Koel. In late January 2015 I was walking on the Pigeon Saddle Track at the top of the hill going over from Golden Bay to Totaranui. At about 3.00pm two of us clearly heard the Koel calling, both the cooo-eee, coo-ee, coo-ee preamble, and then the full wirra wirra wirra cycle of 5-6 times. Having heard Eastern Koels many times in the Aust Top End, and around just about every campground on the Kakadu circuit from Howards, Aurora, Mary River, Cooinda, Katherine, Batchelor and back up the Stuart, usually in the trees right outside our cabins, we are well familiar with that call. Also heard them in Cape York and up and down the east coast from the Daintree, Katoomba and right down to Princes and Royal Parks in inner city Melbourne! I have also made sound recordings of them calling at many of those locations, so I'd be willing to bet the house that it was an Eastern Koel call. Once you hear it, there's nothing else like it. Unfortunately, up on the Pigeon Saddle in January 2015, I could ONLY hear it, I never managed to get eyes on it, let alone photograph it so I didn't make a submission to the Rare Birds committee. Given that the biometrics are similar to our own Long Tail Cuckoo, and they both migrate similar distances with their tracks probably overlapping in North Queensland, it wouldn't be too big a stretch to expect them here. Every time you see what looks like an oversize blackbird out in the bush, have a closer look, especially if its giving that good old Aussie bush greeting cooo-eee.

Nice report about the Eastern Koel. I had a similar experience a few years ago (can't remember the year now) when I'm 99% sure that I saw a Brown Goshawk (100% goshawk) here in Waikanae - based on very high-pitched call (matching recordings I found on-line), a fairly low-level (just above roof height) pass (but without my binoculars), then a fairly prolonged (1 minute or so) of overhead soaring and movement out towards the coast. Frustrating.
Cheers,
GrahamB

Byrd wrote:-Black tern: a VERY rare vagrant to Australia; not sure why you’ve included it in your list.

Checkmate!

Black Tern was in the first list posted, as a possibility. Just shows how unpredictable birds can be, it certainly wasn't one we were expecting. What will be next?

andrewcrossland wrote:There's some pretty far-stretches in the proposed "should" list above.

Little Ringed Plover and Black Tern for example are very rare vagrants to Oz from locations further north. Be nice to see them in NZ but very unlikely unfortunately.

Some of the species on the list are likely, but others are either rare or with limited distributions.

well, I've had to eat my hat over my post from 9 years ago - it tasted rather similar to humble pie!