Stewart Island Kiwi. One of my all time favorite wildlife experiences happened with one of these adorable birds.
I went out walking at 5am looking for one of these mostly nocturnal birds in an isolated and remote corner of Stewart Island.
As I walk down the trail with a flashlight, I hear footsteps like thump
thump
thump
THUMP running up right behind me.
My heart raced and I got chills. That's really not what you want to hear out in the woods at night.
But when I looked back, there was one of these harmless and curious kiwi birds standing right behind me looking right at me.
Here is a short video of one of the other Kiwi birds we saw that day.
Rakiura National Park - Stewart Island, New Zealand
Jan 2012