Favoritos de benackerley

Similar to fairy prions except with very narrow black tail tip, darker greyer plumage, weaker M-shaped marking across wings, distinct dark shoulder tabs, longer narrower bill and a longer bolder white supercilium. Not unexpected if there's a blue petrel around, these two species often associate.

Native bush, in wet plant litter among fallen Nikau fronds.
Body length 37 mm.(antennae not included)
Probably unnamed. I would call it Peripatoides aff. indica or P. aff. aurorbis.

Absolutely splendid & my very best find in 2022.
I am still crazy excited by this. The colour was literally velvet.
I released the individual after photography.
My post of this Velvet worm achieved 100k likes and 11 million impressions on my twitter(url)!

Estimate 2000+ birds.

Can count over 1000 on the ground.

430 birds (manually counted with Photoshop count tool) in the first areal image.

262 birds in the second image. The two images do not overlap, though birds were obviously on the move.

Many more birds.

See eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S177233349

See Youtube video: https://youtube.com/shorts/sMvLjGXJRYw?si=8KlYRe7uAY3RScyb

Today was a great lesson on how to stay composed as a tour guide in front of 37 paying passengers, but it wasn't hard for them to share my excitement either... 13th record for NZ by my count, including the Chatham bird in a burrow a few years back that wasn't submitted. Interesting too is the single white feather on the upperwing.

Indian Ocean Yellow-nosed Albatross recorded on The Forty-Fours Motuhara. This bird was first recorded in 2007 on my first expedition to The Forty-Fours Motuhara and banded that trip. I Subsequently saw the same bird in 2008 and 2009 on The Forty-Fours Motuhara and I photographed the bird in 2009. Not seen on a nest. Bird stood out from Northern Buller's Albatross with its very white head. White head, small amount of black in front of the eye and yellow on top of bill goes to a point where it meets the forehead indicates Indian Ocean species.

I did five expeditions to The Pyramid Tarakoikoia from 2007-2010 doing Chatham Albatross research. This photo taken during the 2009 trip. Photo taken in 'the cave' overhang where the weather doesn't wear down the albatross nests. Chatham Fulmar Prions burrow under and around these tall nests.

Chatham Fulmer Prion adult on nest under a rock overhang. Photographed on The Forty-Fours Motuhara while doing albatross research. Chatham Fulmar Prions nest in rock crevasses and along cliffs all over The Forty-Fours.

Small forested stream. In log. Woo! Such an honour to find one of these beautiful animals! Accidentally disturbed while climbing over the log it was in and it fell out.

Note: The animal was not handled or affected in any way. Was just taken photos of then left alone.

First found on Saint Clair beach on 15th January and uplifted to the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital for quarantine and health checks. Released privately on 1st February, remained for 24 hours and observed on a tour with the OPERA.