aaron-amateur-ornithologist's Identifications

During our visit in January of the El Niño year 1998 there had been dryness and drought for weeks with daily maximum temperatures of up to 35°C and a long period of lull. So these birds were tied to the ground, despite their immense wingspan of about 3.50 m, because without a supporting wind they could not take off. The heat stress of the animals was countered by the supervising ornithologists with regular showers of sprayers. Nevertheless, two of the majestic birds perished at Taiaroa Head this summer, an event which received a regrettable echo in the daily press nationwide.
No one was talking about climate change back then...

Scan from analogue negative