Tara iti hui.

 It was great to attend another annual Department of Conservation (DOC) Tara iti (NZ Fairy Tern) hui in Wellsford today and hear more about the ongoing work and planned projects to protect this endangered endemic species.

One of the projects that captured my imagination was by Cara who plans to trial this motorised falcon to drive Australasian hawks (kahu) away from Tara iti nesting habitats.

Another idea that Cara is researching is to supplementary feed Kahu and their young to discourage them from taking other species. This research could be a game changer for our shell bank areas that are often patrolled by Kahu looking for easy prey. That easy prey is our nesting dotterel including their eggs and chicks. 

I will be following Caras projects closely.

Dripping with Rails !

 I do remember in the early days when I first set out to watch banded rail, I was always unlucky. Following a search at a wetland reserve and still no success someone commented that I should have seen them as the place was 'dripping with rails'.

Gradually my luck changed, or I became more observant, and I began to see them more often in coastal wetland habitats.

 I regularly watch them at Wenderhom Regional Park providing the tide in the estuary is just right to enable them to feed. Today was ideal and these photos show one rail busy feed as the tide recedes.

This banded rail launches itself at a crab

Another tasty crab is caught

The crab is dipped in a pool probably to remove sand

The crab still alive is swallowed whole.

Keeping the Shell Banks safe for Birds

Hauraki School students have once again volunteered to help keep an important shell bank in Shoal estuary safe for birds by searching for and removing rubbish.

It was great to be asked again by Hauraki school to attend and talk to their students ahead of their shell bank clean up. I also brought along my scope in the hope that we might see some of the birds that visit the area. That would prove difficult as due to a low tide to enable access to the shell bank the birds would be a long way out today. 

170 students and their parent helpers and teachers arrived ready to search for rubbish on the shell bank.  Due to recent high tides there was not much large rubbish to be found but the student with their very keen eyes still found plenty of small pieces that could be dangerous to birds that feed in the estuary.

The student from Hauraki school searching for rubbish on the shell bank.

These are just a few of the shorebirds that live and visit Shoal Bay estuary

A Big Thankyou to the students at Hauraki School that took part today including their teachers and many parent helpers. Thanks also to Theo our local Community Ranger for supplying gloves and rubbish bags. 

Another excellent team effort to Keep the Shell Banks Safe for Birds