On the first landing on Tenararo, I was pleased to have seen & photographed a male Polynesian Ground Dove. I did see a female, but only a brief flight view. The others had mainly bumped into females & therefore, I was keen to try looking again for some Polynesian Ground Doves in the hope of being able to photograph a female. Fortunately, I did see a couple of females, but no more males. The first was fairly approachable with care, but the second bird wasn't as cooperative.
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. The females are much duller than then well marked males
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. This individual is full frame height wise, just cropped to my normal 6x5 format
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. Typical I'm ready to take photos, but she wants to ensure she looks her best first
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. Not finished yet
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. Does my wing look big in this shot?
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. What about my underwing?
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. Taken with the Canon SX60 (the others were taken with the Canon 7D/400mm lens)
Polynesian Ground Dove: Female. The second individual
Polynesian Ground Dove: Male from the previous day
I was really pleased to see these Polynesian Ground Doves as the World population estimates by Birdlife International is only 100 - 200 individuals, with about 50 estimates for Tenararo in a 2003 survey. We believe we saw 21 individuals on the first day on Tenararo.