Kea
Kea
This is one of the keas that we saw at the top of Centre Pass. They really are a lot of fun to watch, one can think of them as the clowns of the birds. They were hanging up there on the pass and didn't seem to pay too much attention to us. Now our packs were a different matter...

They are quite a handsome bird with the green feathers with dark accents. It was hard to get decent pictures of other birds on the track. The wood pigeons were usually too high in the trees. The fantails flit around so quicky, barely sitting still for a moment, that all one usually captures is a blur. I tried to get pictures of bellbirds but they were in the thick of the trees and while they are easy to pick out by sound, getting a clear view of them can be difficult. Keas are often out in the open and on Centre Pass, they weren't shy at all.