• New Zealand Birds at Waimangu

    Birds to spot at Waimangu

New Zealand Birds at Waimangu

Waimangu Volcanic Valley is a great place to see a variety of New Zealand Birds. Due to the world significance of the area, it is classed as a wildlife refuge, so all bird species are protected, whether they are native or introduced.

New Zealand Birds you may see at Waimangu

Kereru – New Zealand Pigeon

As you leave the visitor centre at Waimangu and make your way down the hill, keep an eye out for Kereru in the bushes on the left of the trail. These iconic pigeons are a New Zealand favourite, found in towns and cities as well in native forest and rural areas. This New Zealand bird is one of the largest pigeons in the world, weighing in at about 650g. They are noisy flyers with a distinctive wingbeat, so you’ll often hear them before you see them.

Kereru feed on buds, leaves, flowers and fruit and do a valuable job in dispersing these seeds to other areas, particularly useful in areas of regenerating native forest like the Waimangu valley.

Riroriro – Grey Warbler

The Grey Warbler is one of the lightest New Zealand birds weighing in at around 6g. It is the second smallest bird in New Zealand, after the rifleman with a slightly shorter tail!

Often heard rather than seen, their voice is huge given their size. It is described as a high-pitched trill and is a territorial call from the males, the females don’t sing but do have a chirp call. You’ll hear them right through the valley, and if you look carefully around the Southern crater, you may be ucky enough to see one.

Grey Warblers are the host for the parasitic Shining Cuckoo. The cuckoo will lay an egg in a Grey Warbler nest. When it hatches, the cuckoo chick will reject the other eggs and chicks and be raised alone by the Warbler.

Piwakawaka – Fantail

One of the most iconic New Zealand birds is the fantail. Their fan shaped tail makes them particularly agile in flight. They chase flies and moths for food and like to feed on beetles and spiders. These little guys are pretty vocal, and their call can be described as a high-pitched chatter. Listen out for them as you walk throughout the valley at Waimangu, particularly on the nature trail. Here, by Lake Rotomahana food is readily available, and the juveniles will often form loose flocks to feed.

Black Swan

Take the boat cruise out on Lake Rotomahana and you’ll see plenty of these beautiful New Zealand birds. These black swans with bright red bills are slow and graceful swimmers but are ungainly when walking on land. They are plant eaters, feeding mainly on submerged freshwater plants. If the lake water levels are too high to reach these plants, they may be seen grazing on lakeside pastures.

Kawaupaka – Little Shag

Little shag or cormorants are pretty common in New Zealand. This native bird thrives in both fresh and salt water environments. Identified by a short yellow bill and black feet, they are black with either white cheeks and throat, or completely white underparts. They like to eat alone and favour a diet of small fish and crustaceans and are also known to eat frogs and tadpoles.

Look in the trees overhanging Lake Rotomahana, this is where the little shag likes to nest. They build a nest with twigs and like it with fibrous material such as fine grasses.

Weweia – New Zealand Dabchick

This endemic water bird currently extinct in the South Island, and has patchy populations in the North Island, most commonly found around the lakes in the Central Plateau in Rotorua and Taupo.

Dabchicks dive up to 4 metres underwater to find small aquatic animals to eat and can hold their breath for up to 40 seconds. They have a submarine-like ability to change their buoyancy by adapting the angle of their feathers.

Look out for the New Zealand Dabchick at Lake Rotomahana.

  • What an unbelievable walk, really good information on both the brochure and on boards at strategic points. Lots of activity from the thermal vents and the lakes, it took us 3 hours to walk down, and after the boat around the lake we took the free bus back to the top, but you can walk back. A great day…

    Andy
    Hatherleigh, United Kingdom

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  • We had a great trip here - very organised walk with lots of information and fascinating views of the craters. The boat trip on the lake was very relaxing and timed to allow us to catch the bus back up. We had a good lunch back at the…

    Penny
    Brisbane, Australia

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  • So impressive and wonderful to tramp through...fantastic vapor whirls on the magnificent colorful lakes...great ferns with thousands of different shades of green.....amazing viewpoints to look down into the valley...awesome hues of ever changing volcanic terraces in different lights of the day....a great bus service for weary people or elderly ones to appreciate this veritable gem of…

    Thomas Rhöse
    Google Review

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  • A must-go in Rotorua, where you'll explore a stunning scenery of ferns and volcanic rocks and…

    Simone
    Brasillia

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  • A peaceful quiet walk in the rain. We came here on a rainy day, as there wasn’t much else to do outside when in rains in Rotorua. Staff was nice and walked us through the bus stops and how everything worked there. We paid the additional $5 to rent a heat thermometer gun (not sure was the actual name of it is). It was cool to see how hot the water was getting with the temperature gauge. This was a good place to go when it rains. The walkway is…

    Spring
    Texas

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  • We were fortunate to visit when there were no crowds and walked the valley in almost complete isolation which added to the mysterious and prehistoric feel. Everywhere we turned was a feast for the eyes. Our teenage son only wished we could have spent more time there. If you appreciate nature, enjoy an easy hike, want to see something unique Waimangu is for…

    Dianna
    Tokyo, Japan

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