Nature First

 'Help conserve the places we love and photograph through wise use, education, outreach and community. The Nature First Principles help everyone enjoy nature'

I have always believed that protection of Nature comes before Photography and I support the work of Nature First.org

The Nature First Principles.

• Prioritize the well-being of Nature over Photography
• Educate yourself about the places you photograph
• Reflect on the possible impact of your actions.
• Use discretion if sharing locations.
• Know the rules and regulations.
• Always follow Leave no trace principles and strive to leave places better than when you found them.
• Actively promote and educate others about these principles.

I hope other photographers can help to protect Nature by following these principles.

Spoonbill passing through.

 Each year the Royal Spoonbill pass through the area stopping to roost (rest) in their favourite sunny spots at high tide then feeding on the nearby mud flats of Ngataringa estuary at low tide. I was tipped off that there were ten birds this time. The most I have seen at this site over the past few years is six. They may stay for a few days before moving on. At Ambury Regional Reserve sometimes over 100 can be observed.

Goldfinch in Garden Pond

 Even with some recent cold days in Auckland this male Goldfinch decided to take a bath. Usually they form small flocks for garden visits to feed on the grass seed at this time of the year and into summer. Although I have seen large flocks of 50 in the countryside. A female goldfinch also visited the following day but didn't enter the pond.

Further Search for Popokotea

 A further search for Popokotea (whiteheads) in Shakespear regional park today.

Popokotea

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Hihi

Popokotea

Search for Popokotea

 Popokotea (white heads) are maybe a little larger than a grey warbler and just as fast as they work in small groups moving through the trees in search of insects. A small flock of perhaps six or more entertained us in Shakespear park today. 

Popokotea (white head) on Puriri tree

Popokotea searching for insects in old puriri tree

Other birds enjoyed were grey warbler and kereru and one partake duck. It was a cool but sunny day.

Kereru in Manuka tree

Patake (Brown Teal) 

Grey Warbler

Manuka

Hauraki Beach clean-up cancelled.

 Unfortunately, due to a terrible weather forecast for this morning the planned beach clean-up by Hauraki school had to be cancelled. This annual event to keep the local shell banks safe for shorebirds has been supported by the students and teachers at Hauraki school for many years now and is a great event. 

On Tuesday I was invited to visit the school and talk to the wonderful students and show them a presentation about the special shorebirds that live at and visit shoal bay during the year.

Removing rubbish washed up on shell banks that could endanger the birds and their attempts to nest is a very worthwhile cause.

Hopefully the students may get an opportunity with their families to visit when the weather settles.

My thanks to the teachers for allowing me to share with their students my ongoing interest in protecting the shorebirds and other wildlife that visits and inhabits Shoal Bay. 

Winter Supplementary Feeding of Garden Birds

 Winter supplementary feeding of garden birds is helpful when natural food sources are less abundant. Silvereye love grapefruit and cutting one in half like this and impaling it on a tree soon attracts a little group of these birds.

 Once winter has passed its best to let the birds source their own food. It's safer for them. Any food dishes used should be regularly scrubbed to prevent diseases being passed between birds and different species.

Wrybill arrived in March

 Our flock of wrybill return to our local estuary usually in March/April to avoid the South Island cool winters. Initially just four then eight then 35 of these delightful unique birds with their bent to the right bills.

We have had higher numbers than this. The most counted were 103 in 2015.

ABS Talk Forest Succession on rainfall driven landslides.

 The Auckland Botanical Society talk last evening at Unitec was by Elizabeth Williams the recipient of the 2025 Lucy Cranwell grant.

With so many slips occurring around the Auckland region due to increased heavy rainfall this is a subject that helps understand the vegetation both natural and exotic that follows these event

Smaller slips occur around our local estuary some due to coastal development and risk adding exotic and pest plants to this fragile environment.

Tara iti annual hui 2026

 Yesterday was the Department of Conservation 2026 annual Fairy Tern hui at Wellsford. This is always well attended by people active in the conservation of this threatened species.

Adult Fairy Tern with prey 13.01.2014

Yesterday we heard some engaging talks about the remarkable work being carried out to save this species from extinction by DOC staff and many volunteers.

This year a special edition of the Birds NZ Notornis publication including many research papers and current information of research into this vulnerable New Zealand species, our rarest bird species.

Notornis Fairy Tern edition March 2026

 I have included a few of my NZ Fairy tern photos taken during my volunteering for conservation projects to assist this vulnerable species from heading to extinction. 

Time was spent on the Pakiri coast from 2012 to 2019 helping the DOC ranger and on the Kaipara coast from 2014 to 2019 helping with a Forest & Bird funded project to create another nesting site away from the people populated East coast where most Fairy Tern choose to nest

Juvenil Fairy Tern learning to fish 13.01.2014

Unlike Australia our Fairy Tern (FT) numbers are very low. Recently captive rearing has increased the population from around 40 to 50 birds. Australia FT number in the thousands but they too have problems of competition with humans for space at their coastal nesting and roosting sites 

New Dotterel Signage Install

 Thanks to support from Auckland Council staff, I am busy upgrading our Northern New Zealand dotterel signage with new sturdy signs. The old signs have worked well and have survived going under water at high tides in this location.

 The new signs I think are more appropriate to illustrate our work & message to protect dotterel habitat.

After the successful fledging of one dotterel chick last season, we are hoping to build on that again this year although a harrier did fly overhead while I was fixing up the sign. Harriers and high tides are the main enemy in this location to successful dotterel rearing. 

Dotterel Forum 2026

Searching through some photos in preparation for a school talk soon about our local shorebirds, I was reminded that I had not posted any details of the Dotterel Forum that was held at the Puhoi village hall on the 3rd of May.

The Keynote speaker was John Dowding who shared his experiences on Stewart Island (Rakiura) in the attempts and challenges to successfully raise the numbers of the rare Southern New Zealand Dotterel. 

John Dowding & Southern NZ Dotterel

As always some very supportive interesting talks and I was able to contribute too sharing our local success on having one nest, one egg, one chick, that successfully fledged one Northern New Zealand dotterel this season.

Pukorokoro Miranda AGM

AGM. meetings are not most people's 'cup of tea'.  That includes me but there is one exception the Pukorokoro Miranda Naturalist Trust AGM held at the Shorebird Centre. These are usually bearable due to a lighthearted approach to the nitty gritty of recording and reporting on the annual finances.

Once the AGM was signed off an excellent talk by Dr Jenny Hillman (University of Auckland) followed

 Jenny specializes in research into restoring shellfish species and ecosystem functioning and follows this by then understanding the benefits of this research work.

After the AGM and talk there was following lunch a chance to visit the birds at high tide for some birding. I always enjoy the walk to the hides especially when accompanied by skylarks singing on the wing.

Skylark on the wing

Skylark showing crest

Wrybill in large numbers

SIPO's, Godwit, & Wrybill too

Mistletoe & Moiré's Hill

 Interesting to find this little patch of Small-flowered mistletoe (Ileostylus micranthus) today on totara the host tree. This was on the way to our Bot Soc walk along the Moire's Hill summit track.

Mistletoe

Mistletoe fruit

Mistletoe leaves

Dead mistletoe hanging from host tree

New Dotterel signage from AC

 On a recent visit to Big Manly beach on the Whangaparaoa peninsular I was impressed to see some new dotterel signage.

On a recent meetup with keen to help conservation staff from Auckland Council I requested some of these new metal signs. 

I have some doubts considering the lifespan of these signs in the salty environment of our local estuaries however they are worth a trial as their messaging is good. They also look excellent. All that was required was to drill a couple of holes to be able to fix them up. Hopefully in the location below they will compliment a rather confusing dog bylaw sign to protect this sensitive and important dotterel and shorebird habitat. locally 

Happy Birthday MINTS!

 Happy Birthday 'MINTS' for your 10th birthday celebrations visiting the Tongariro National Park. Here are a few photos of those wonderful get togethers that we have enjoyed.

2016 HAPPY DAYS

2017

2019

Leaving Soon.

 Our flock of bar-tailed godwit will soon be leaving our local estuaries and heading North to China approximately 10,000kms first to feed and rest before heading on to Alaska another 6 thousand kilometers to breed. 

We have enjoyed their company for our summer months and now particularly the males are well colored up in their beautiful breeding plumage which also acts as camouflage in the Alaskan landscape.

Northward

 Exploring the coastline north of Auckland once more. It isn't essential to travel to the Bay of Islands to see some beautiful coastal scenery.

We have just spent a week staying off grid near the DOC (Department of Conservation)  Motutara Reserve. It's a stunning area with two ocean beaches and a calmer estuary side too. There are also smaller hidden beaches and rocky inlets too. The infamous Elizabeth reef is just offshore recently claiming another sailing yacht who's crew a renown sailor and wildlife photographer and his dog fortunately survived. The dog complete with life jacket making it ashore by itself. Unfortunately, the yacht ended up on Sandy Bay beach further down the Tutukaka coast and had to be totally written off.

The reserve area was previously grazed by sheep from the nearby family-owned farm. It's mainly Kikuya grass but there is a steep area of bush along the estuary side.

More to follow............................

New Year Catchup

 A belated Happy New Year to all.

Its summer in New Zealand and although the weather has been rather changeable with some tropical heavy rain that's caused some tragic earth slips and flooding there have still been sunny & warm (mid 20's) days at the beach.

Our little band of loyal volunteers completed the January bait pulse around the Shoal and Ngataringa estuaries in Auckland. It's our tenth year having started in 2016. It was not surprising that the predator control boxes revealed an active rodent month. Until residential trapping takes place our coastal lines to protect terrestrial and coastal shorebirds will keep seeing reinvasion.

Our early intervention to protect an NZ dotterel nest with one egg was successful with one juvenile now fledged. The design of the nest cover with modifications certainly protected the nest from Australasian hawks (Kahu) and Southern black backed gulls. High westerly and south-westerly winds between 50 and 90 kilometers per hour did not dislodge the shelter following modifications to the legs of the shelter.

Our bar -tailed godwit flock of just under two hundred birds has settled down following a rather unpredictable season as far as their roosting habits. They are coloring up especially the males ahead of their 10'000 km flight to China in March on route to Alaska to breed.

I would like to thank those people that contacted me concerned that the godwit had been absent from their familiar roosting sites. Now they appear to be back to moving between the two estuaries as in previous years.