In the absence of land animals in New Zealand birds have filled every niche that in other countries would be filled by animals. The variety of birds is immense and they dominate in every area from the sea to the mountains. Some of the birds are found only on the West Coast or only in the South Island. While most of the birds shown here are native species some introduced birds that have acclimatised to the wild may also be included.

In New Zealand birds are dominant and the only native land mammals are bats. Around our coasts there are some marine mammals including seals, dolphins and whales. My contact with marine mammals is somewhat limited so my photo gallery consist mostly of the NZ Fur Seal which can often be seen on our beaches and the Hector’s Dolphins which swim offshore, sometimes venturing into river mouths in pursuit of fish.

New Zealand has many interesting insects, the majority found only in this country. Insects are important as they provide food for other creatures including lizards, fish, bats, birds, and other insects. Insects pollinate plants; quite a number of plants are pollinated by night-flying insects which is why New Zealand has a large number of white-flowered plants, being more easily found in the dark.

The West Coast has a diverse range of plants. Some are widespread, being found in other places around New Zealand, Australasia or the Pacific while some are endemic to the West Coast or parts of the Southern Alps. The range of habitats in which plants are found is huge, ranging from high in the mountains and alpine screes, alpine and subalpine herblands, forests, open scrublands, swamplands, coastal cliffs and beaches.