Whanganui River’s rare bird Nankeen night heron captured in Paul Gibson’s new book

Paul Gibson with his book Rare Beauty at Behind the Door on 4 cafe at Ūpokongaro, where some rare Nankeen night heron live. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui photographer Paul Gibson’s new book Rare Beauty - Nankeen Night Heron in New Zealand tells the story of a unique bird only found in New Zealand along the Whanganui River.

The Nankeen night heron was first sighted along the lower reaches of the Whanganui River around 30 years ago and the keen photographer and birder has been trying to capture images of the rare, nocturnal bird ever since.

There have been a few sightings of the Australian immigrant - also known as the rufous night heron - in other places, however the riverside from Hiruhārama Jeruselum to Ūpokongaro is the only area the species is known to have established populations in.

Fortune favoured Gibson in February this year when some birds decided to nest in trees at Ūpokongaro at the rear of Behind the Door on 4 cafe.

Gibson, his wife Jane, their family and birding buddies have made around 50 visits to the cafe to observe the birds this year and their efforts have been richly rewarded.

The photographer has managed to capture thousands of images of the birds and the best have been selected for his book.

Along with fellow birder Jim Norris, Gibson has frequented the area in the evenings and early mornings to capture them warming themselves in the early-morning sunshine or emerging from their daytime rest.

Paul Gibson's book includes his photo of an adult Nankeen night heron (left) with a juvenile bird perched on a branch at Ūpokongaro. Photo / Paul Gibson

“It’s been fascinating to watch the chicks grow,” Gibson said.

“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 said although the birds fledge early, they don’t fully resemble the adult birds until they are around 3 years old.

“They almost look like a different species until they mature,” he said.

Stocky and short-necked, the adult 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 said.

When a young bird was spotted at Ūpokongaro in 2012, a friend called Gibson to say he’d seen an unusual bird and thought it might have been a kookaburra.

Rare Beauty - Nankeen Night Heron in New Zealand is Gibson’s third book, and he did not envisage its possibility until the nestings at Ūpokongaro provided him with so many golden photo opportunities this year. One photograph in the book shows a chick perched on a branch above some oblivious diners at Behind the Door on 4.

In addition to a stunning array of photos, the book contains an excellent index and glossary with a comprehensive range of facts and figures. There is also an interesting collection of anecdotes about Gibson’s encounters with birds and the people he has met while observing them.

Gibson’s book also contains a reference to the Māori name for the species - Umu kōtuku, named for Hōhepa Te Umuroa, who rests at Roma Urupā near 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 prison in 1847. His remains were not returned to his rightful resting place until 1988, shortly before the first sighting of the birds in the vicinity.

Birding buddies Paul Gibson, grandson Noah and Jim Norris enjoying a rare daytime sighting of a Nankeen night heron in a macrocarpa tree at Ūpokongaro. Photo / Jane Gibson

A former accountant, Gibson has travelled extensively throughout New Zealand, the Chatham Islands and the sub-Antarctic photographing birds.

Regarding Gibson’s previous books, Birds New Zealand: Beauty Like No Other, published in 2014, has been reprinted twice and Feats Beyond Amazing, published in 2021, is the story of visiting Alaskan godwit AJD (named for his leg tag) and his visits to the Whanganui region over 13 years.

Rare Beauty - Nankeen Night Heron in New Zealand, published 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 team in 2014 and regularly covers stories from Whanganui and the wider region. She also writes features and profile stories.