Fraser Gurney

Fraser Gurney lives in New Zealand’s South Island city of Christchurch with his partner Emily. Fraser was first introduced to the world of birding as a young child, going on sightseeing trips with his family into the Southern Alps of New Zealand. It was here that encounters with species like Kea, New Zealand Falcon and Blue Duck first sparked his interest in birds. Further family holidays followed, this time to Australia, where Fraser started to keep his first bird lists.

These days Fraser is a keen New Zealand lister, becoming the first person to see 250 species in the country before the age of 30. His birding has taken him to the farthest-flung corners of New Zealand, including the Subantarctic Islands and the subtropical region, and he has also returned to Australia several times.

He has developed a particular interest in seabirds, particularly the gadfly (Pterodroma) petrels, a special group of birds for all birders based in New Zealand – the ‘seabird capital of the world’. Fraser has also recently completed a master’s degree at New Zealand’s Lincoln University, where his study saw him become the first person to use GPS to track the endemic black-fronted tern. He has also been employed as an ornithologist by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation and the ecological consultancy Wildland Consultants, and as bird guide in the temperate rainforest of the South Island. As well as guiding for Birdquest, he also guides for local company Wrybill.