Paul Gibson along with his e-book Rare Beauty at Behind the Door on 4 cafe at Ūpokongaro, the place some uncommon Nankeen night time heron reside. Photo / Bevan Conley
Whanganui photographer Paul Gibson’s new e-book Rare Beauty – Nankeen Night Heron in New Zealand tells the story of a novel chicken solely present in New Zealand alongside the Whanganui River.
The Nankeen night time heron was first sighted alongside the decrease reaches of the Whanganui River round 30 years in the past and the eager photographer and birder has been making an attempt to seize pictures of the uncommon, nocturnal chicken ever since.
There have been a couple of sightings of the Australian immigrant – also referred to as the rufous night time heron – elsewhere, nonetheless the riverside from Hiruhārama Jeruselum to Ūpokongaro is the one space the species is thought to have established populations in.
Fortune favoured Gibson in February this 12 months when some birds determined to nest in timber at Ūpokongaro on the rear of Behind the Door on 4 cafe.
Gibson, his spouse Jane, their household and birding buddies have made round 50 visits to the cafe to watch the birds this 12 months and their efforts have been richly rewarded.
The photographer has managed to seize hundreds of pictures of the birds and the very best have been chosen for his e-book.
Along with fellow birder Jim Norris, Gibson has frequented the world within the evenings and early mornings to seize them warming themselves within the early-morning sunshine or rising from their daytime relaxation.
Photo / Paul Gibson
“It’s been fascinating to watch the chicks grow,” Gibson stated.
“The eggs are about the same size as a hen’s egg and by seven weeks the chicks are about the same size as an adult chicken.”
Gibson stated though the birds fledge early, they don’t totally resemble the grownup birds till they’re round 3 years old.
“They almost look like a different species until they mature,” he stated.
Stocky and short-necked, the grownup birds have piercing yellow eyes and a midnight blue crown with two or three white head plumes. Their breast plumage is cream to cinnamon brown, with the brown plumage extending to their backs and wings.
“Only the juveniles, with their streaked brown and white colours, can be mistaken for another bird species,” Gibson stated.
When a young chicken was noticed at Ūpokongaro in 2012, a good friend referred to as Gibson to say he’d seen an uncommon chicken and thought it might need been a kookaburra.
Rare Beauty – Nankeen Night Heron in New Zealand is Gibson’s third e-book, and he didn’t envisage its risk till the nestings at Ūpokongaro supplied him with so many golden photograph alternatives this 12 months. One {photograph} within the e-book exhibits a chick perched on a department above some oblivious diners at Behind the Door on 4.
In addition to a surprising array of images, the e-book accommodates a wonderful index and glossary with a complete vary of info and figures. There can also be an fascinating assortment of anecdotes about Gibson’s encounters with birds and the folks he has met whereas observing them.
Gibson’s e-book additionally accommodates a reference to the Māori identify for the species – Umu kōtuku, named for Hōhepa Te Umuroa, who rests at Roma Urupā close to Hiruhārama.
Te Umuroa, a member of Ngāti Hau of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, was wrongfully arrested and deported by Governor Grey’s forces and died of tuberculosis in an Australian jail in 1847. His stays weren’t returned to his rightful resting place till 1988, shortly earlier than the primary sighting of the birds within the neighborhood.
A former accountant, Gibson has travelled extensively all through New Zealand, the Chatham Islands and the sub-Antarctic photographing birds.
Regarding Gibson’s earlier books, Birds New Zealand: Beauty Like No Other, revealed in 2014, has been reprinted twice and Feats Beyond Amazing, revealed in 2021, is the story of visiting Alaskan godwit AJD (named for his leg tag) and his visits to the Whanganui area over 13 years.
Rare Beauty – Nankeen Night Heron in New Zealand, revealed by Unique Pictorials, is available at Paiges Book Gallery, H&A Print and Behind the Door on 4 cafe at Ūpokongaro.
Liz Wylie is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. She joined the editorial group in 2014 and usually covers tales from Whanganui and the broader area. She additionally writes options and profile tales.
