Shortly after taking delivery of the first Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S into New Zealand in 2022, we took an impulsive overnight trip to Turangi in the hope of Whio/Blue Duck. I have had a number of exciting trips in search of Whio/Blue Ducks and this trip was a great reminder of never knowing what you will get and that it’s not over until it’s over!

Heading down in the afternoon we visited all my reliable spots on the river and found nothing apart from some good looking Parera/Grey Duck and shags. Overnight the rain began and it looked as though was going to be an unrewarding trip. Not prepared to head home without checking a couple of spots, I donned my waterproofs and headed for the river. Gazing through the haze of rain I was pretty sure that one of the grey rocks was a duck so rapidly walked down the track before approaching low and slow. 7 of the rocks turned into ducks!

So began an almost 2 hour joy of lying on rocks in the rain delighting in ducks. They were completely relaxed and by remaining low and shifting slowly to achieve compositions they remained undisturbed and fed upstream extremely close to my position.

While physically uncomfortable the pleasure of their relaxed company and the visual opportunities was euphoric and is up there on my list of memorable life experiences with my trip that finally achieved a Whio/Blue duck in flight. The memory triggered every time I look through my images.

Looking back, it would have been so easy to have packed up and philosophically accepted that some trips are a bust. The rain made it marginal and at times was a bit heavy but in the end I achieved some of my best Whio/Blue Duck images. More than that I achieved some of my favourite memories of sharing the planet with one of my favourite birds.

Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S

With eternal gratitude to Angela who tolerates her husband’s insanity and his excited chatter after abandoning her to lie on rocks in the rain with ducks!