Chukor, Molesworth Station

[Nikki McArthur]

Hi all,

I was driving through Molesworth Station near Ward's Pass earlier in the week and flushed two Chukor from the side of the road. These birds are well known to Molesworth Station staff, with this and another location in the nearby Acheron Valley being known by locals to be reliable places to find these birds.

From this coming Saturday the Molesworth Road will be open to the public, so this Ward's Pass site will be accessible over the next few months to birders unable to get to any of the better-known Chukor sites further south.

Upon entering my record into eBird (the red marker on the map below), I've discovered that this is currently the northernmost Chukor record in NZ, by something like 250 km!

(201.33 KiB) Viewed 3057 times

A copy of my eBird record, together with a map and coordinates for the location, can be found here:

http://ebird.org/ebird/newzealand/view/ ... =S25503200

Regards,
Nikki

[Nikki McArthur]

We spotted another pair of Chukor today, this time on Awatere Valley Road about 3 km NE of the Muller Station turn-off.

Cheers,
Nikki

(266.54 KiB) Viewed 2931 times

[Paul G]

Just a brief word of thanks Nikki. These reports are much appreciated. Knowing some sites a little closer to
the NE of the Mainland is sure to benefit travellers who might not otherwise be going all the way down south,
myself included !
cheers
Paul

[Will Parsons]

Earlier this year I saw 1 bird near the top of the Black Birch observatory however this off the beaten track somewhat and access is through private property. Their is also a pair kereru on road living in the pine tree's. The owner of the private property is Frank Prouting 5757771 and I always ring before hand as the road to top can be very rough and exposed to strong winds.

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Great shot Nikki, we also flushed a parent and 3 or 4 chicks on the Rainbow Road last year.