BirdingNZ.net

I identified the bird making these sounds as Aus Little Grebe, though wasn't able to see the bird moving its beak (I was observing and recording from a reasonable distance). Comparing it with other recordings online it doesn't really fit.

The recording was made in Nov 2011 at Ormiston Road pond above Waipu where Aus Little Grebes are present, along with wildfowl, crakes (no doubt), NZ Dabchick, and farm birds that I'm not 100% familiar with like Myna and Brown Quail.

Any ideas please?

Hi Nick,
Just saw this thread and have to say that the call is not familiar to me!
Phil

No idea about the bird, but fairly sure the frog is a southern bell frog (Litoria raniformis), which in my experience is much less common in the northern part of the country than the green and gold bell frog (L. aurea) these days.

I just came across this thread and the call is certainly a new one to me. I had a look on nzbirdsonline and there is one there that sounds very similar:
http://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species ... ttle-grebe
Exactly the same even! So it is the "whinny call" of an adult Australasian little grebe:)

Well that doesn't get the situation any further ahead!

No? Why?

Wasn't it the same recording he's talking about?

Yes, and it's titled "whinny call of an adult Australasian little grebe", so I take it the experts are confident enough of that ID to put it on NZBO. I was really just posting above to note that the mystery has apparently been solved.