Concern through our local estuary godwit season was that the godwit numbers had not reached previous yearly totals. However counting this morning, the numbers are on a par with those counted last February of the previous season.
Also visible was one of our Chinese flagged birds enjoying its sixth visit to spend the summer with us before returning to Alaska via China to breed.
Great to see that after requesting that our Forest and Bird signs be reskinned. Some action has occurred. Today I checked after meeting Graham a local on the Bayswater side while I was counting godwit and he passed on that one of the signs had been unskinned apparently waiting for a new covering. I then checked the one at Charles Street that was really in poor shape and was pleased to see that it has been completely reskinned with a fresh sign. (see photo).
Two of our four signs around the estuary were becoming very shabby due to weather, UV and kids' bikes being leaned on them.
I would like to thank the Auckland staff who have pushed this through and Richard at North Shore Forest and Bird who also had a hand in progressing this.
The signs were originally installed in 2014 to help inform locals about the interesting shorebirds that visit the estuary and the designation of Shoal estuary as a Site of Significant Wildlife Interest.
With the discovery that we have probably just one dotterel chick first seen on day 33 after the egg in the nest was first observed we now have maybe 5 weeks ahead until this bird is fully fledged (able to fly and care for itself). ... Although young dotterel are not fed by their parents they are guided to food and shown the ropes of feeding themselves. While the adult birds keep a sharp lookout for any dangers around such as patrolling hawks and other predators.
On Day 38 while watching the adult dotterel keeping an eye on its chick two kayakers approached the shell bank and were first mobbed by a pair of pied stilts as they appeared to want to land their kayaks right by the pied stilts nest with one chick in it. Not feeling comfortable with the divebombing stilts the kayakers moved along to land exactly where the dotterels were feeding.
I have not perfected the art of walking on water so had to resort to intervening by shouting and waving my arms in the air to direct the people to move away and to my surprise they did.
However, the Morepork ( Ruru) did during the early hours of yesterday morning (3.45am) after an initial craw sound followed by a piercing hunting screech then give 16 repetitive familiar hoots. It then fell silent. Once again it was in the Northboro Reserve area a favourite haunt at night.
These are all three of the moreporks range of calls that I am familiar with. Hoots are the calls most commonly heard.
Just back from a few days exploring the Ruakaka estuary. With a wildlife refuge adjacent to the estuary this is a great area to watch wildlife particularly shorebird roosting, nesting, feeding and caring for their young.
It's also interesting to observe people and how they interact with wildlife. It's a wide-open space but why some people have to disturb the birds is I think their perception of enjoying nature in New Zealand.
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| Godwit Roosting at High Tide |
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| The flock begins to lift as people approach |
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| The entire flock is disturbed |
More to follow....
With a worrying 3.5 metre high tide and at 33 days from the first sighting of an egg in a dotterel nest I was concerned that maybe the egg was infertile or had been cooked in the sun. The adults were seen frequently leaving the nest to chase off nearby birds. However, on one of those occasions yesterday morning at high tide when the adult left the nest a tiny chick emerged for a minute or two to have a few quick steps and a look around at its new world before heading back into the nest sheltered by the returning adult to the nest.
Dotterels usually egg usually hatch at day 28 - day 32 so I think this chick probably emerged the day before (Day 32). Fortunately, the estuary was calm, so the 3.5 tides were just below the nest location.
A circling large juvenile Southern black backed gull did pass by but the nest shelter seemed to avoid its attention to the nest site.
So far so good! I will check again this morning for more activity. Then it's a five to six week wait until the young fledge. Now I am hoping that the adults will direct any chicks to the nearby little tent shaped chick shelter to continue their protection.
Its 32 days since I observed a dotterel nest with one egg on a shell bank in the estuary. The giveaway was that a pair of dotterels had been rather agitated with a two Caspian tern one an adult and the other a juvenile resting up on the shell bank at high tide. When I checked at low tide, I discovered a dotterel nest with just one egg so presumed that his a had recently been laid as dotterel usually lay three eggs. I quickly added an anti-hawk shelter to give the dotterel a chance as hawks are very active at predating eggs or chicks.
I started counting the days to hatching. 28-32 is the usual so concern now is that maybe the eggs are not fertile, or some other issue has occurred.
Beautiful day at the wonderful Matuku Link Reserve in the Waitakere Ranges yesterday for a Christmas gathering with the Auckland Botanical Society (Bot Soc).
A few photos taken on the day.
