Beaks & Feathers

06/09/2024

30/08/2024

02/07/2024

Beaks and Feathers are stoked to have received another travellers choice award. We could not have achieved this without the awesome people who make up the Beaks and Feathers team, and the visitors to Stewart Island who choose to go on our tours. A big thanks to you all 😀

21/05/2024

We went and visited today. Saw a lot of cool birds which we don’t get in the South Island or Stewart Island, such as the north island Robin/Pitopito, whitehead/popokotea, stitch bird/Hihi, north island saddleback/Tieke. So nice being in a different forest too with tawa, Pukatea, silver fern, northern rata and nikau. Highly recommend visiting if you are up this way. 😊

20/04/2024

Beaks and Feathers office is closing for winter. We will be Open on Demand from 22 April for shop purchases and guided walk bookings. Just give us a call on 0273163077
Email at [email protected]
Or visit us at www.beaksandfeathers.co.nz
A big THANKS to everyone who supported us this season 😊

27/03/2024

24/03/2024

If you look carefully you can see a kiwi and an Aurora In the one shot. 😀

24/03/2024

It was an early start to kiwi spotting this morning, to dodge the weather. We had an Aurora to greet us, as well as kiwi. Jackpot!

03/03/2024

Prints from The Residents of Ulva island series are also available from Beaks and Feathers 😊

23/12/2023

Have a Safe and Happy Xmas from the Beaks & Feathers team. 😊

01/12/2023

21/11/2023

Ulva by Land & Sea guided tour today.

20/11/2023

Flowers on Ulva Island at the moment.

18/11/2023

Eggs bene, donuts and coffee this season on weekends at Fin & Feather Eatery😋

We are excited to announce our new Eggs Benedict Brunch Menu!! Available 10am-2pm Saturdays & Sundays along with our Donuts and Coffee. Come try something new!

15/11/2023

Fin & Feather Eatery is opening for the season! 😋 Situated right next door to Beaks & Feathers, with undercover dining available.

OPENING NIGHT FRIDAY 17TH!!!!!! See you there

09/11/2023

We were lucky enough to spot a kiwi out and about this morning with a Stewart Island Robin busy collecting the disturbed bugs 🐛 🐜 😊

05/11/2023

Rakiura Museum in the glow of the Aurora Australis on the way home from kiwi spotting

03/11/2023

Yellowhead and Brown Creeper can often be found together in flocks, hopping and flitting through the forest on Ulva island in a feeding frenzy with other bird species such as Kakariki, Fantails and Saddleback.
Survival
While the Brown Creeper (Pipipi) is found over the South Island and Stewart Island, the Yellowhead (Mohua – also found on our $100 note) is in trouble and is restricted to a few areas in the South island which has low predator numbers due to effective pest control and predator free offshore islands. They nest in holes in trees so have no way of escape when a rat or stoat pays a visit.

The Brown Creeper weaves an open cup shaped nest high up in the forest canopy and goes largely unseen due to its brown camouflage and its habit of foraging up high. Their song can often be heard even if the bird is not seen.
Mis-identity
The Yellowhead – Mohua is named after its bright yellow head and breast and is also known as the Bush Canary. They are sometimes confused with the more widespread Yellow Hammer which originated from Europe. An easy reference is Yellowhead don’t come out of the forest and the Yellow Hammer generally don’t go in.
Forced fostering
Both the Mohua and Pipipi have the unfortunate honor of being the chosen one to foster the Long-tailed Cuckoos chicks. They have no say in this, and find themselves diligently raising a colossal chick hatched from an egg rudely placed there by a cuckoo, displacing their own offspring.
Both these birds can be seen and heard on a trip to Ulva Island.

03/11/2023

Meet Blue. 🐧 He will be swimming into Beaks & Feathers next week. Come in and check him out. Rumour has it, his wee mates will be following a bit later on. More awesome work from Nige, the talented maker and creature at Blue Dog Art

26/10/2023

Stewart Island today. ❄️⛄️🥶

22/10/2023

Aurora Australis or Southern Lights, happens when the sun releases a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields into space, also known as CME (coronal mass ejections).
These solar winds carry particles that interact with the earth’s magnetic field, colliding to produce energy releases in the form of auroras.

21/10/2023

It’s always an added bonus when an Aurora pops up while out kiwi spotting

17/10/2023

The Stewart Island robin, also known as the toutouwai, is a small bird species endemic to Stewart Island / Rakiura.

Stewart Island Robins have a distinctive appearance, with a dark grey or black head, back, and wings, and a white or pale yellow belly. They have large heads, short necks, round bodies and an upright stance. They are rather cute but with a seriousness about them.

They are trusting wee birds with a curious nature around humans, fearless since forever. Hopping along the forest floor on their long twig-like legs they will come close to your feet to see what delicious bugs you have managed to expose with your feet.

Robins are primarily insectivorous, feeding on a variety of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates found in the forest but will also eat small berries.

They are masters at caching their food in holes and crevices in branches of trees to be stored there like loot until they feel the urge for an easy feast. Robins have a great memory and can relocate up to 12 caches and know which cache has the most food in it.

It’s hard to avoid Robins on Ulva Island, they seem to be at every twist and turn of the track just waiting for humans to come along. They have also been observed following ground birds such as Weka and Kiwi to take advantage of disturbed soil and the insects that are stirred up.

05/10/2023

They are named "Morepork" due to their distinctive call, which sounds like the phrase "more-pork" repeated several times.They are primarily nocturnal birds, with excellent night vision and super sensitive hearing. The Ruru can't move their eyes in their sockets, so instead they swivel their head up to 270 degrees without moving its shoulders.Being incredibly skilled at stealth hunting, the Ruru maneuvers through dense bush in silence....

The Morepork - Ruru - is a small forest dwelling owl species native to New Zealand. Find out more about this interesting owl...

30/09/2023

Dive Rakiura are taking bookings for the upcoming season. This is an awesome experience snorkelling in the Marine reserve in Paterson inlet. Also the perfect tour to pair up with kiwi spotting or an Ulva Island Guided Walk with Beaks & Feathers

We are back!!

Spring time has sprung and we are back in action taking bookings for the coming season.

If you want to secure an underwater experience for the coming season you can contact us here on Instagram, by email ([email protected]), or by phone (0221058740).

Its going to be a good one!

23/09/2023

Beaks & Feathers booking office is now open 11am until 2pm each day. Hours will be extended as it gets busier. If we aren’t about just ring or txt us. We aren’t far away and are always happy to come and open up for you. 😊

22/09/2023

Everyone surely loves Fungi and once Autumn comes along, overnight fungi literally starts to pop up all over the show in the bush of Rakiura – Stewart Island and Ulva Island.There are many many types of fungi growing on Ulva Island. Below are just a very few that you don’t actually have to look for. They are just there waiting to be discovered....

Everyone surely loves Fungi! When autumn arrives, literally overnight fungi starts to pop up all over on Stewart Island & Ulva Island.

07/09/2023

The NZ Sea Lion is thought to be the World's rarest sea lion with numbers around 10,000.
Subantarctic beings
The New Zealand Sea Lion also known as Hooker’s Sea Lion, and Whakahao in Māori, is a species of sea lion that primarily breeds on New Zealand’s subantarctic Auckland and Campbell islands and to some extent around the lower South Island coast and Stewart Island.

One of NZ's biggest animals
New Zealand Sea Lions are rather large. Adult males are 2.4 – 3.5 metres long and weigh 320–450 kgs, while adult females are more petite ranging from 1.80 – 2 metres long and weighing in at 90 – 165 kgs. Adult males are big boffheads and blackish-brown in colour with a well-developed black mane of coarse hair reaching the shoulders. Females are naturally prettier and their coats are more of a creamy caramel to grey colour with darker colour around the muzzle and flippers.

They aren't slow
Don’t be fooled by thinking that these are lazy lay-about beasts, they can get up into a gallop along the beach at a faster pace than you would expect and once in the ocean they morph into aquatic gymnasts with torpedo speed.

Their culinary favs
New Zealand Sea Lions are known to prey on a wide range of species including fish, squid, octopus, crustaceans, seabirds and other marine mammals, and even the odd NZ fur seal here and there. New Zealand sea lions are in turn preyed on by great white sharks (aka Jaws), which are also lurking through our waters.

Pup hideaway
Female sea lions are now and again found in the forest of Ulva Island where they have found a safe and cozy spot away from the mature males to birth their pups. The first ones being sighted often in December. At birth the pups are 70–100 cms long and weigh around 7–8 kgs.

Each summer we seem to be seeing more and more sealions on the beaches of Ulva Island and in Paterson inlet. This is a great sign so show their numbers are surely increasing.

07/09/2023

Not my first Tui ever but my first one in this style.

This is one of the original artworks that sold already before even opening for the season!

I will keep posting the once that sold already until they open officially and then show you the ones still - maybe available ;-)

31/08/2023

Early Maori would tame Tui and teach them hundreds of words, including sentences to welcome and entertain guests.Early Maori would tame Tui and teach them hundreds of words, including sentences to welcome and entertain guests.Tuis are known to be highly intelligent and have been observed using tools, such as sticks or twigs, to extract insects from tree bark. Research has also shown that urban tui have changed their habits and become more street smart, by nesting high up in trees where cats, dogs and rats cant easily reach, while Tui in predator free areas like Ulva Island tend to nest all over the show, sometimes even just above the ground.Tuis are excellent fliers and can perform acrobatic aerial displays, including flips and twists, during courtship or territorial disputes....

Tuis are native to New Zealand and are one of the country's most iconic bird species. They have a distinctive, talented and intelligent.

22/08/2023

The Kiwi is said to be New Zealand's honorary mammal. It has feathers like hair, heavy marrow filled bones, and nostrils at the tip of its beak. All mammal like characteristics. This strange, shaggy, bumbling creature with its tailless backside and useless little wings, spends the nights snuffling and grunting about while probing its long beak into the soil and leaf litter searching for food....

The Kiwi is said to be New Zealands honorary mammal. Rakiura Tokoeka are monogamous birds and form long-term pair bonds. Find out more...

15/08/2023

The Beaks & Feathers team have won a Travelers’ Choice 2023 award. We are quietly stoked about this, and couldn’t have done it without our totally awesome guides and staff. A big thanks to all our wonderful visitors who came on our tours and left great reviews. 😊

14/08/2023

We will be opening up again for tours from the 1st of October onwards! We also have a new website with some cool new photos so check it out! Www.diverakiura.co.nz You can book a tour over the phone- 0221058740

10/08/2023

Beaks & Feathers are now open for Guided Walks and Kiwi Spotting tours. On that note heres a few facts about our iconic Kiwi.
Rakiura Tokoeka - Apteryx australis.
The kiwi is said to be New Zealands honorary mammal. It has feathers like hair, heavy marrow filled bones, and nostrils at the tip of its beak. All mammal like characteristics. This strange, shaggy, bumbling creature with its tailess backside and useless little wings, spends the nights snuffling and grunting about while probing its long beak into the soil and leaf litter searching for food. Rakiura Tokoeka are omnivorous, feeding on a variety of invertebrates, such as worms, insects, and spiders, as well as fruits and seeds. They are monogamous birds and form long-term pair bonds. They have a low reproductive rate, with females typically laying only one or two eggs per breeding season. The egg is so large that takes up the majority of the space inside the kiwi abdomen. Both parents and previous seasons juveniles take turns incubating the eggs and caring for the chicks, which hatch fully feathered and are able to forage for themselves shortly after hatching.
The Rakiura Tokoeka is a subspecies of the Southern Brown Kiwi and is endemic to Stewart Island/Rakiura. Being an iconic bird, kiwi are a popular attracion for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts alike. The best way to see a kiwi on Stewart Island is to join a Kiwi Spotting tour where the guides are passionate about kiwi and their wellbeing, minimising any disturbance to the birds. This in turn makes it a better experience all.

10/08/2023

Introducing Rakiura Face Oil.
A highly nourishing, hydrating and regenerating Face Oil. Rakiura Face Oil is a light, highly absorbent, highly hydrating, face oil packed with oils which are superfoods for your skin. The super stars of this oil are cacay oil, pomegranate seed oil, jojoba and sweet almond oil.
Cacay oil is high in natural retinol and rich in a perfect combination of vitamins and fatty acids that set to work regenerating your skin, therefore reducing fine lines, blemishes and loss of firmness within weeks, leaving your skin glowing.
Pomegranate seed oil nourishes the skin with its insanely high store of Vitamin C, one of the biggest vitamins in skin care.
Sweet almond oil has high quantities of oleic acid, which has emollient properties making the skin soft, supple, and more radiant.
Jojoba Oil, nourishes, revitalises, soothes and regenerates the skin. Jojoba oil is also an excellent emollient and moisturiser Benefits of Hydrating Face Oil
Extremely rich in natural retinol
Increases skin hydration and smoothness
Anti-aging
Rapid skin absorption
Reduces appearance of fine lines & wrinkles
Improves skin elasticity
Improves skin tone
Reduces the formation of acne
Reduces appearance of scars and pigmentation
Promotes collagen production
Nourishes the skin
Maintains softness and radiance of the the skin
Apply to face and neck morning & night. A little goes a long way.

08/08/2023

Rakiura Baby Massage Oil contains a caring blend of pure botanical extracts of Calendula and Sweet Almond oil, known to nourish, protect and soothe your baby. The ingredients are specifically chosen to help care for babys delicate skin which is more susceptible to fungal infections, dryness and rashes. Essential oils of lavender and chamomile gently nourishes and hydrates babys delicate skin while calming the senses and aiding in restful sleep.
Benefits of baby massage
Relaxation: Helps to calm, soothe and decrease the level of stress hormones in babies. Especialy helpful after bath time and before bedtime
Bonding: Infant massage increases attachment between baby and parents.
Stimulation: Massage stimulates babies’ left and right brain functions and encourages muscle development.
Regulation: Massage can help regulate babys respiration, circulation and digestion

06/08/2023

31/07/2023

Beaks & Feathers are back from our winter break and are now operating on demand. Today we were out on our Ulva by Land & Sea guided tour. 🦭 🐧 🌳.

30/06/2023

Super stoked to have Art from Denise Fort Art in Beaks & Feathers for the upcoming season. 😊