Fernbird / mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) midway between Ration Point and Motukaraka, Pāuatahanui. I love the brownish red background in this area, caused by the shrubby bushes and orangey grasses the fernbirds like to live in.
#nzbirds #fernbird #birds #pāuatahanui #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand
#nzbirds #fernbird #birds #pāuatahanui #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand
August 5, 2026 at 3:35 AM
Fernbird / mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) midway between Ration Point and Motukaraka, Pāuatahanui. I love the brownish red background in this area, caused by the shrubby bushes and orangey grasses the fernbirds like to live in.
#nzbirds #fernbird #birds #pāuatahanui #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand
#nzbirds #fernbird #birds #pāuatahanui #BirdsSeenIn2026 #NewZealand
"Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."
- New Zealand Fernbird, after seeing reflection in window
#birds #birdphotographý #newzealand #newzealandfinds #newzealandbirds #angrybirds
- New Zealand Fernbird, after seeing reflection in window
#birds #birdphotographý #newzealand #newzealandfinds #newzealandbirds #angrybirds
January 24, 2026 at 1:29 AM
"Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."
- New Zealand Fernbird, after seeing reflection in window
#birds #birdphotographý #newzealand #newzealandfinds #newzealandbirds #angrybirds
- New Zealand Fernbird, after seeing reflection in window
#birds #birdphotographý #newzealand #newzealandfinds #newzealandbirds #angrybirds
Fernbird / mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) at Pāuatahanui on Sunday. They were more bold than usual - it must be the time of year. We saw several chasing each other out in the open (they are usually shy).
#nzbirds #pāuatahanui #birding #birdwatching #fernbirds #BirdsSeenIn2025 #NewZealand #birdoftheday
#nzbirds #pāuatahanui #birding #birdwatching #fernbirds #BirdsSeenIn2025 #NewZealand #birdoftheday
November 3, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Fernbird / mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) at Pāuatahanui on Sunday. They were more bold than usual - it must be the time of year. We saw several chasing each other out in the open (they are usually shy).
#nzbirds #pāuatahanui #birding #birdwatching #fernbirds #BirdsSeenIn2025 #NewZealand #birdoftheday
#nzbirds #pāuatahanui #birding #birdwatching #fernbirds #BirdsSeenIn2025 #NewZealand #birdoftheday
Had an amazing time on Tiritiri Matangi last week - we saw kōkako, a sleepy ruru mum with her fledgling and (not pictured) a mātātā/fernbird fledgling, which was a lifer for me! 🪶 #birds
www.instagram.com/reel/DTPF9Lo...
www.instagram.com/reel/DTPF9Lo...
January 8, 2026 at 6:41 AM
Had an amazing time on Tiritiri Matangi last week - we saw kōkako, a sleepy ruru mum with her fledgling and (not pictured) a mātātā/fernbird fledgling, which was a lifer for me! 🪶 #birds
www.instagram.com/reel/DTPF9Lo...
www.instagram.com/reel/DTPF9Lo...
oh you say citation needed?
alright then:
alright then:
October 20, 2024 at 5:39 PM
oh you say citation needed?
alright then:
alright then:
Relaxing in our hotel room at the Skotel on Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand I heard the unmistakable chirrup of a fernbird / mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) through the open window. Managed to find it - first time seeing them here. Bird #9 for 2025.
#BirdsSeenIn2025 #nzbirds #fernbird #birding #birdwatching
#BirdsSeenIn2025 #nzbirds #fernbird #birding #birdwatching
January 22, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Relaxing in our hotel room at the Skotel on Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand I heard the unmistakable chirrup of a fernbird / mātātā (Poodytes punctatus) through the open window. Managed to find it - first time seeing them here. Bird #9 for 2025.
#BirdsSeenIn2025 #nzbirds #fernbird #birding #birdwatching
#BirdsSeenIn2025 #nzbirds #fernbird #birding #birdwatching
An absolutely beautiful little kōtātā (fernbird) at Ōkārito.
December 7, 2024 at 12:20 AM
An absolutely beautiful little kōtātā (fernbird) at Ōkārito.
He’s a mātātā/fernbird, nice when he shows up but generally nowhere to be seen.
October 4, 2026 at 8:33 AM
He’s a mātātā/fernbird, nice when he shows up but generally nowhere to be seen.
Many endemic New Zealand birds are famously un-shy, but not the Fernbird! They're fairly common but secretive and skulky residents of reedbeds and tussock grasslands, and many New Zealanders have never seen one.
I was lucky enough to see this one on my last morning in NZ, in Cooks Beach.
I was lucky enough to see this one on my last morning in NZ, in Cooks Beach.
January 29, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Many endemic New Zealand birds are famously un-shy, but not the Fernbird! They're fairly common but secretive and skulky residents of reedbeds and tussock grasslands, and many New Zealanders have never seen one.
I was lucky enough to see this one on my last morning in NZ, in Cooks Beach.
I was lucky enough to see this one on my last morning in NZ, in Cooks Beach.
Franny Cunninghame describes the importance of nest monitoring for mātātā/South Island fernbird as part of the Tautuku Restoration Project in the Catlins. #BirdsNZ2026
May 30, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Franny Cunninghame describes the importance of nest monitoring for mātātā/South Island fernbird as part of the Tautuku Restoration Project in the Catlins. #BirdsNZ2026
I've done that walk, a few years ago! No blues but I did see a fernbird and the views were incredible
April 10, 2026 at 9:25 AM
I've done that walk, a few years ago! No blues but I did see a fernbird and the views were incredible
Do *not* anger the fernbird. 😳
January 24, 2026 at 3:03 AM
Do *not* anger the fernbird. 😳
Yes, fernbird! Well done!
November 14, 2023 at 8:37 PM
Yes, fernbird! Well done!
🇳🇿 New Zealand- Day 14 - In the Okarito area, multiple sightings of the Okarito kiwi (no photos) but some common species and a long finned eel
November 24, 2025 at 5:33 AM
🇳🇿 New Zealand- Day 14 - In the Okarito area, multiple sightings of the Okarito kiwi (no photos) but some common species and a long finned eel
Te Kuha, Westport – The Te Kuha Mine proposed on a conservation land mountain-top in Westport, near the Denniston Plateau.
The area is home to numerous threatened species, such as the great spotted kiwi, South Island fernbird, geckos, and 17 plant species.
The area is home to numerous threatened species, such as the great spotted kiwi, South Island fernbird, geckos, and 17 plant species.
May 24, 2024 at 6:58 PM
Te Kuha, Westport – The Te Kuha Mine proposed on a conservation land mountain-top in Westport, near the Denniston Plateau.
The area is home to numerous threatened species, such as the great spotted kiwi, South Island fernbird, geckos, and 17 plant species.
The area is home to numerous threatened species, such as the great spotted kiwi, South Island fernbird, geckos, and 17 plant species.
While capturing common birds is fun and satisfying there is still a thrill when you get a rare or hard to capture bird. In this case this Mātātā/Fernbird was caught while paddling around Ōkarito with me in the front of a double kayak balancing a long lens!
October 31, 2023 at 10:58 PM
While capturing common birds is fun and satisfying there is still a thrill when you get a rare or hard to capture bird. In this case this Mātātā/Fernbird was caught while paddling around Ōkarito with me in the front of a double kayak balancing a long lens!
🇳🇿 New Zealand- Day 8 - Lake Taupo to Napier produced a few good birds despite the mixed weather
November 18, 2025 at 8:59 AM
🇳🇿 New Zealand- Day 8 - Lake Taupo to Napier produced a few good birds despite the mixed weather
Hi Tony, I notice that my fernbird (#167 on the New Zealand Country List) from a month ago is missing. Just checking the list as I have loads to post!
September 8, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Hi Tony, I notice that my fernbird (#167 on the New Zealand Country List) from a month ago is missing. Just checking the list as I have loads to post!
Bit out of the way for folks but is accessible via bus stop at Army Bay. No need for ferry & free entry
Typical see/hear
Whitehead
Tieke
Hīhī
Tui, kōtare, pūkeko rosella, bellbird
Might see kākāriki, Robin
fernbird,kaka, rail/crake
Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society – share.google/W8X12sbfPTlq...
Typical see/hear
Whitehead
Tieke
Hīhī
Tui, kōtare, pūkeko rosella, bellbird
Might see kākāriki, Robin
fernbird,kaka, rail/crake
Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society – share.google/W8X12sbfPTlq...
Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society – Building a haven for our wildlife
share.google
April 22, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Bit out of the way for folks but is accessible via bus stop at Army Bay. No need for ferry & free entry
Typical see/hear
Whitehead
Tieke
Hīhī
Tui, kōtare, pūkeko rosella, bellbird
Might see kākāriki, Robin
fernbird,kaka, rail/crake
Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society – share.google/W8X12sbfPTlq...
Typical see/hear
Whitehead
Tieke
Hīhī
Tui, kōtare, pūkeko rosella, bellbird
Might see kākāriki, Robin
fernbird,kaka, rail/crake
Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society – share.google/W8X12sbfPTlq...
I always give spoonbill a vote because it’s such a funny looker. Fernbird because it’s local to me, titipounamu because it’s round and cross-looking. But then there's the extinct ones which are a novelty. Just voted, site a bit slow, suspect the John Oliver effect.
November 7, 2023 at 12:54 AM
I always give spoonbill a vote because it’s such a funny looker. Fernbird because it’s local to me, titipounamu because it’s round and cross-looking. But then there's the extinct ones which are a novelty. Just voted, site a bit slow, suspect the John Oliver effect.
As usual, March has come in like a lion and hopefully it will go out like a lamb. But did you know that's not how it is in other countries? In the Malay peninsula, March comes in like a worm-eating fernbird and goes out like a worm-eating fernbird.
Source: amthenfm.wordpress.com/tag/john-bel...
Source: amthenfm.wordpress.com/tag/john-bel...
March 1, 2026 at 4:01 PM
As usual, March has come in like a lion and hopefully it will go out like a lamb. But did you know that's not how it is in other countries? In the Malay peninsula, March comes in like a worm-eating fernbird and goes out like a worm-eating fernbird.
Source: amthenfm.wordpress.com/tag/john-bel...
Source: amthenfm.wordpress.com/tag/john-bel...
Used to be a black one living somewhere around the top of the fernbird track at Orokonui...
November 15, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Used to be a black one living somewhere around the top of the fernbird track at Orokonui...
At least 76 bird species are recorded there, some migratory visitors from the other end of the globe including the Siberian Tattler, Greenshank and Sanderling. Local species include the South Island Fernbird Poodytes punctatus punctatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832), for example.
August 16, 2026 at 3:21 AM
At least 76 bird species are recorded there, some migratory visitors from the other end of the globe including the Siberian Tattler, Greenshank and Sanderling. Local species include the South Island Fernbird Poodytes punctatus punctatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832), for example.
Fernbird; Tiritiri island, New Zealand, 1-12-2017
April 9, 2026 at 10:57 AM
Fernbird; Tiritiri island, New Zealand, 1-12-2017