During our South Island trip we used Te Anau as a base for 4 days as it was perfectly situated for a trip to Manapouri and Doubtful Sound as well as close enough to explore the road up the Eglinton Valley to Milford Sound. I had hoped to explore the Beech Forest at Lake Gunn again as last time I had really enjoyed the mossy forest with opportunities on Rifleman, South Island Robins, Tomtits and even Falcon. The Mirror Lakes are a little way before reaching Lake Gunn and deserve a stop. The main attraction are the calm waters with reflections but on this visit there were a large number of Fantails flying hawking insects over the water.
Fantails can be challenging at the best of times as they never sit still, continually twisting, turning and dashing off. A decent image of a perched Fantail is rewarding but one in flight is even more of a challenge. Conditions at Mirror Lakes gave a few different options. In one direction it was possible to isolate the Fantails against a clean reflection of the blue sky, while at another angle reflections of the flax on the far side gave a busier textured context. The blue sky version made it a bit easier to lock focus and follow the erratically moving birds. Even using the compact and light Nikon D500 with Nikon 300m f4PF combo (with TC14 teleconverter) it was difficult to lock focus and follow the birds so a lot of images could be easily culled. A couple were worth processing and a nice reminder of the experience. Interestingly the activity was closely related to the sun. When the sun was shining the insects were active and consequently so were the Fantails. When the sun disappeared all the action quietened down only to resume as soon the the sun re-emerged. I’m not sure it this activity was due to insects hatching from the water or adult insects flying over the water to lay eggs.
The Mirror Lakes are worth a visit. Timing can make a big difference as they are a routine stop for tourist buses en route to Milford Sound so you run the risk of being swamped by selfie taking tourists. Generally don’t stay for too long.
Photos with Nikon D810 and Nikon 18-35mm f3.5-4.5 and Nikon D500 with Nikon 300mm f4PF lens + TC14 1.4x teleconverter.
