Observations by seaseeker

Timed survey 10mins
3.54pm - 4.04pm
Four Brothers Scenic Reserve, Karamu Walkway carpark, SH 23
1 kereru

I stood in the same spot in the carpark as my observation the day before, 20 Sept 2019. I checked the same tree I observed kereru feeding but there were none.
3.56pm 1 kereru flew out of a tree on the other side of the road opposite me, flew up into the air, flew in a small circle above the tree then across the road and up over bush reserve out of sight. Not a display flight. Pity I didn't have my camera.
I think it was the same tree I saw two kereru fly out of last year. Not a large tree but the tallest on the other side of the road, opposite the carpark entrance closest to the top of the divy.

2 Kaka
While we walked along the road, first one kaka flew over our heads, squawking and land briefly at the top of the tree just in front of us. It flew off east and then a another flew over our heads from the same direction the other one had come from and also landed briefly in the same tree, then flew off following the other one. They must have flown around behind trees back north towards where they had come from. Once out from behind the trees, we watched them fly around squawking before they disappeared out of sight. Although it was getting dark, we could see the distinctive orange under their spread out wings as they flew over the top of us just before landing in the tree.

call of male North Island brown kiwi.
I counted 38 calls in a row, altogether. I counted 12 that were not loud then fainter and fainter, a pause as if one or two calls were missing then it started again faintly, (I kept counting from 12) getting louder and louder until it sounded like it was very near us, then fainter and fainter, a bit louder then fainter, a bit louder, fainter fainter fainter until I couldn't hear it any longer. 38 calls altogether.
We stayed at Booms Flat 3 nights. I didn't hear any kiwi calls the first two nights. The 3rd night I was awake from 3.40am, laying, listening. This was the only set of kiwi calls I heard in that time.
I mentioned this to the staff at the visitors centre. While I was telling them about it, someone in the shop area pushed the button on children's toy on display. I immediately said, that's the sound I heard, and turned to see if was a puppet of a kiwi. The staff member I spoke to, confirmed male brown kiwi have been heard calling there for awhile now, contrary to what I was told last time on my Jan 3 'observation'. Apparently, for a long time just one male North Island brown kiwi was heard there but in more recent times, there have been more males heard.
It was the same call I heard in my observation Jan 3, 2019, 3am.

I heard an unfamiliar, particular bird/animal call during the night, while staying at Booms Flat doc campsite, Kauaeranga Valley Rd, Coromandel Forest Park. I have tagged Quest for Kiwi in case this is of interest.

3am Thurs 3nd Jan, 2019
Low to high toned calls, one after another, bell shaped, repeated pattern ie starting faint then getting louder and louder and louder then quieter and quieter til I couldn't hear it any more.

4.30am, I heard it again, or a similar one, though this time it wasn't in the same distinct faint to louder and louder then quieter, bell shaped, repeated pattern as at 3am. This time a second individual seemed to answer during the first one's call, which sounded like a sudden double up. Then they stopped and took turns, second individual was clearly further away but of the same tones or similar tones, unlike the difference between male and female kiwi sounds I've now heard online.

3.30am Fri 4 Jan, 2019
I heard it again, one individual only.

4.40am and 4.57am Sat 5 Jan, 2019
I heard it again, or similar. For the 4.57am one, it went on off in batches for about 4mins.

I’ve searched online to try and identify the call. Similar recorded calls online:
• The ruru sound 'cree' call http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/sites/all/files/23%20-%20Track%2023_5.mp3 sounds a bit like what I heard but doesn't seem to have the same full pitch and consistency. Do ruru make these calls when they are flying (to account for the 'bell shape' I heard)?
• I came across one particular recording, north Island brown kiwi 'calls by captive male' that sounded very much like, if not exactly like, what I heard http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/sites/all/files/03%20-%20Track%203_25.mp3
• Kiwis for Kiwi, weka call https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/kiwi-facts-characteristics/kiwi-calls/ sounds like what I heard but the Kauaeranga Valley Visitor’s Centre told me (via email 7 Jan, 2019) they don't have weka there, as far as they know.

At no time during or near these calls did I also hear the distinct common 'morepork' sound of ruru. I did hear typical ruru 'morepork' calls at other times on the nights we stayed at Boom Flat just not at the times mentioned.

I have lived next to bush for 20 years, and grew up on a Waikato farm. I'm not familiar with weka at all but we have lots of ruru calling here at night so I'm familiar with their different calls. However, maybe ruru calls are different in different areas? I think it's also worth noting that on the nights we stayed, I lay awake for at least two hours after dark on all 3 nights and did not hear the same sound. Whatever the sound was, I'd never heard anything like it before so, with my keen interest in NZ birds, it stood out to me.

two kereru flew over me, one following the other. The one at the back did a display flight as it followed the other. I had just heard them flying about the garden trees by me before they took off and flew away up the valley.

4 or 5 kereru flew up into the sky over the valley, briefly chased each other back and forth and flew away. Some flew towards the biggest gum tree. Just prior to this, I could hear kereru flying/flapping around trees at 98.

Display flight.

I must have disturbed the kereru as I walked passed the tree he was in. He took off straight away doing a display flight towards bush over the start of the driveway, by the road.
Not the kereru in the photo, this photo was taken later