A fantail you can’t miss
The challenge of capturing the perfect shot of a rare white fantail filled the lockdown days of a Taranaki photographer.
The snow-white bird has become a community sensation in King Edward Park, Stratford, for the past few weeks, with many park users spotting it flitting around when they crossed a swing bridge over the Pa¯tea River.
As word has spread, photographers have flocked to the park to try to capture the fastmoving bird.
One who was more persistent than most is keen photographer Guy Vickers of Stratford who first spotted the bird on April 11.
Since then, he has spent an hour or two most days in the bush and beside the Pa¯tea River waiting for his chance to photograph the wee bird.
During that time, he had figured out where to wait for good views of the bird feeding.
He wore the same clothing each time so the bird became accustomed to his presence, he said.
‘‘It would fly up quite close and hang around for about five minutes,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s been an incredible journey.’’
When he first saw the white bird, it was flying around with two normal coloured siblings, but was now alone.
One day, he was waiting beside the river across from where the bird was feeding.
‘‘A large mayfly flew out half a metre from me, and the fantail saw it from across the river, flew across and grabbed it on the wing.’’
It happened so quickly, he wasn’t able to capture it.
He has enjoyed the technical challenge of the project, he said.
‘‘It moves so fast, it’s really at the limit of ISO and shutter speed. About one in 50 shots is sharp.’’
Forest and Bird’s chief conservation adviser Kevin Hackwell said white native birds occurred every so often.
‘‘They are rare but commonly rare,’’ he said. ‘‘You’ll only find one or two in very large populations.’’
There was a white kiwi at the Pu¯ kaha National Wildlife Centre and a white kereru had been seen in Wellington for some years. A white weka is also known to live in the Abel Tasman National Park.
The white colouring that made it so visible was unlikely to make it more vulnerable to most predators than any other fantail, apart from the New Zealand falcon, ka¯rearea, which hunts on the wing.
‘‘The good news for the white fantail is that falcons are reasonably rare, although improving, so I think the fantail is pretty safe.’’
Fantails are one of the few native birds in New Zealand that have adapted to an environment greatly altered by humans, the Department of Conservation website said.
Cats, rats, stoats and mynas are as great an enemy to fantails as they are to other native birds. Of all the eggs and chicks fantails produce, only a few survive and grow up.