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I conducted road counts on the North I and South I of New Zealand in Mar 2006 to evaluate relative abundance and distribution of Australasian harriers (Circus approximans). Over 1670 km were traveled on the North I with 98 harriers detected, yielding 1 harrier/17.0 km traveled. Over 2430 km were traveled on the South I with 145 harriers detected, yielding 1 harrier/16.8 km traveled, with no difference in number of harriers detected/km traveled between islands (P > 0.25). Three survey routes, 1 on southeastern North I and 2 on northeastern and east-central South I, were particularly productive yielding 1 harrier/7.1-11.1 km traveled. My results provide empirical support for the frequently cited description that the Australasian harrier is now New Zealand’s most abundant native diurnal raptor, and has largely benefited from the conversion of land from native forest and scrub to pasture at the likely expense of other native and endemic species.