Pūteketeke Bird of the Century

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=3SGivGoiHSk

Absolutely thrilled to see NZ's 'Bird of the Century' - the pūteketeke/Australasian crested grebe! We also enjoyed two Eurasian coots as they cuddled with their chicks; and mallard duck, and a pair of chaffinches - Lake Wānaka/Oanaka, South Island/Te Waipounamu, New Zealand/Aotearoa • ....that loud clanking sound throughout the video is the Eurasian coots calling 3:10 • Highlights: • pūteketeke preening 0:00 • dramatic neck stretch 1:57 • stands up on water, flapping wings 2:02 • another display 2:11 • calls, then swims off like he's on a mission 2:17 • Eurasian coot's chick returns from adventure 2:59 • ...I really needed two cameras for this place, so much action! • pūteketeke swims towards us 3:21 • preens 3:43 • gets feather stuck in beak 4:02 • yawn 4:20 • looking around 4:25 • preens back 4:46 • preens neck 5:38 • calling 5:52 • snuggles beak down for nap 6:06 • coot with chick (photos by guide Sam) 6:48 • coot calling (see her beak snap shut) 7:08 • chick shifts under mama 7:40 • the other coot preens, settles on top of chick already tucked under her 07:53 • pūteketeke preens, scratches head 8:22 • got spooked, squawks 9:09 • at the mallard duck (photo by guide Sam) 9:21 • chaffinch male (photos by guide Sam) 9:32 • preening 9:43 • pair of pūteketeke 10:52 • preening 11:34 • swims off - see how far back its feet are? 12:02 • pūteketeke can't walk on land due to the position of their feet. In fact.. the Latin genus name for grebe, podylimbus, means “feet at the buttocks” https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/P... • Pūteketeke is a must see bird - championed by John Olivier on Last Week Tonight • John Oliver Campaigns for a New Zeala... https://www.cnn.com/travel/bird-of-th... • https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/reso... • Get your own pūteketeke! proud partners of Forest Bird, creates a silhouette of the winner every year, directing 30% of all proceeds to F B...you can add a clip-on John Oliver https://metalbird.com/products/puteke... • https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/spec... • Eurasian Coot, aka common coot, Australian coot https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/spec... • Tips for this activity: • We enjoyed these birds at the Wānaka Marina before our morning boat transfer to Mou Waho, an island on Lake Wānaka/Oanaka. Lots of nesting platforms - perfect for Eurasian coots. I could've spent all day here. • Tips from my trip: • For this vacation, I decided to try Natural Habitat Adventures (NatHab) - World Wildlife Fund (WWF) partners since 2003. NatHab offers conservation travel-nature expeditions. For this area, they partner with local guides and drivers from Elite Personal Tours (EPT) • EPT https://www.eptours.co.nz/ • -Sam (expedition leader) - if you go to NZ (with or without NatHab), book this guy! He blew us away with his vast knowledge and enthusiasm. He was incredibly organized and thoughtful • Every night he: shared a whiteboard with the next day's timing and events, temperatures, tips; uploaded fabulous pictures which he took with his professional camera; and emailed us a diary for that day...like things we did, animals we saw, links to additional information, videos • For those with specific diets or preferences, he'd clear the more limited prix fixe menus with us in advance • When I wasn't comfortable with a ground level end room with a walkway wrapping around the bedroom that eliminated any privacy (or forced me to close the curtains and lose the view), he got me three different room options after the lodge manager lied to me and said there weren't any other rooms available • One day we had the option to kayak, but you couldn't go it alone. It was rainy, and the first good day to do laundry - not a lot of interest. Despite that, Sam hung out in the common area to be 100% available to us • For harder hikes, Sam encouraged all to join and was always there with a hand to help us through the mud and crossing the creek • When NatHab removed a 'glacier' stop from the itinerary, Sam coordinated an optional helo ride over them. Additionally, if someone showed interest in an activity or subject he'd try to incorporate it - for instance, we asked about buying NZ manuka honey, and he gave us the option to leave the hotel 30min earlier to stop at a local supermarket where it would be cheaper • Sam repeatedly went above and beyond and provided exceptional service that other companies only promise you - and he's a really nice person to boot • -Casey (driver) is a fabulous and very safe driver - he has decades of experience and handled the curvy mountain roads in bad weather like it was nothing • -Paula (director/manager) was the home base and worked behind the scenes with the itinerary, securing reservations – and made everything extremely efficient. She was extremely helpful changing my airport transfers

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