Its my Birthday

So just like when I was a child I decided to spend a chunk of the day at a  zoo. And Auckland zoo is a great place to be. The highlight for me was touching a kereru, it pecked me back. We are now friends for life. It was a fun time and good to be in the sunshine in the Autumn with so many beautiful trees surrounding the enclosures. Its a botanical delight.

Mount Tamahunga

It was a fun afternoon with Fiona, Josh and  Eliane carrying up the new informative stoat signs that Eliane had made to be positioned on a trap line on the mountain. These were hammered into the ground mainly by Josh who's is eight and had just come from a rugby game in the morning. Well done Josh.

 The eight signs were positioned individually  near  each trap to help explain to walkers what their purpose is. Three dead rats were found in the egg baited traps on our climb up the mountain. We met Richard and his wife complete with fresh free range eggs as they came down resetting the traps and  baiting with fresh eggs. There is an amazing commitment to seriously reducing the pest population in this forest of beautiful native bush so allowing the native species of lizards, frogs and birds to thrive.

Later Eliane showed me all her Excel stats for the trapping lines , it was very impressive. So too was the beautiful bush including some striking Nikau palms. We rather disturbed the bird life with our hammering but saw many kereru and also  heard then later saw, a kaka fly by.

Motuora Island

Track clearing and cleaning up the newly created  Gannet colony were the tasks for this working party as we headed out on the first water taxi from Sandspit heading to Motuora at 8am. The crossing was calm with little wind and we arrived to a welcome from Sian and Toby on the Island. Soon we were heading off in small groups for our allotted tasks. I was with Shelley and Wolfgang and we were track clearing at the Southern tip of the Island.  More  to follow........................

Duvaucel's Geckos

It was an exciting time to see up close a female translocated Duvaucel's gecko living free in the bush of  Tiritiri Matangi Island. With many thanks to Alaine a researcher from Massey University for sharing her knowledge  to monitor the progress of our largest native geckos.

Using a radio receiver to reach the small transmitter back packs, complete with aerials on the geckos, Alaine could then observe and record where these nocturnal creatures prefer to be.

I added a rifleman to my sightings, its my first up close in fact so close I could not photograph it with the lens I had attached to my camera. Its a diminutive bird that moves extremely fast and although I have heard them on the kawarau track this was my first sighting.
 We also saw little spotted kiwi and heard them too after dark on the Ridge track on our way to search for the geckos.  A large tuatara was in its usual place and I was pleased to be able to get a photo this time as on my last visit he was not visible.

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

Kaipara in a kayak

With a steady downpour as we arrived after setting out  before 7am to meet the high tide, it wasn't looking good to launch the kayak. As  we struggled to put the waterproof gear on in the rain this seemed to transform the day and by the time we were on the water the sun was shining. The mission was to search for good locations for potential nesting sites for some rare birds. Then returning from an island while there was some water left in the kaipara so we didn't have to trudge through deep mud, we then explored for seed regeneration. This was in  in the recent fire damaged forests along the Kaipara edge and also in the Dome valley on our way home.

On the beach of one of the islands we found an interesting plant Tauhinu which is a native weed. I remember seeing this along the wharf road on Tiri.

Motuora Island - Pycroft's Petrel feeding

Ignoring the weather reports of moderate rain, 14 supporters of the Motuora project set out from Sandspit  by water taxi on a busy Easter Sunday. This was a Pycroft's Petrel information day. Well more than that we were able to watch these beautiful birds being artificially fed by a keen group of dedicated volunteers. It was wonderful to be up close to see the real character of these birds that have been trans located from the Mercury Islands to form a new colony on Motuora Island.

The birds are taken before fledging from their source Island and are moved to  their new home to imprint that locality before flying off for three years and then hopefully returning to Motuora as their new permanent home. Special burrows with inspection boxes had been previously prepared by volunteers as the new home for 70 birds.

I then  walked to the Northern headland and in the afternoon to the Southern headland where I found long-tailed blue butterflies, a self introduced species that arrived in New Zealand in the 1960s.
My thanks to the team for a great day out and a very tasty BBQ at the potting sheds.

This is a great ongoing project to support, the restoration of this open sanctuary reserve with a friendly group of interesting volunteers and many thanks to Sian and Toby the two Island Managers for their help and knowledge making this an enjoyable day.

More photos  http://creativemomentsimages.co.nz/library/motuoraisland31032013/

Puhoi River Kingfisher

I watched this kingfisher for sometime as it skillfully hunted for crabs from this boat jetty at low tide on the Puhoi river.
 When it flew back to its perch with its catch it would furiously smash the crabs on the hard surface of the rails to stun them before it was satisfied that it could swallow it whole. It appeared today that the kingfishers  preferred being on the shady side of posts or rails.
At times it became quite feisty as other birds approached.

Awaruku Reserve

Rain rain rain. Shouldn't complain. Its the first rain since Christmas and I seem to remember that the last time I joined Margi and  Discovery walks for a walk around this reserve, a year or so back, it was raining then too. There is a real advantage to visiting this reserve after heavy rain as it has a couple of small waterfalls in the small disused quarry that bring the surrounding bush to life. Today although the stream near the entrance was gushing I suspect that interference with piping water for subdivisions and housing in the area have reduced the waterfalls to only perform after sustained heavy rain and when the water table has risen sufficiently in the area during the winter.

We had a small group of keen walkers who by the end of the walk were all thoroughly soaked but I think all enjoyed what I believe is the best time to see the bush at its best, after or during rain.

This was part of Margi's series of 'big trees on the Shore walks' co-ordinated with the Kaipatiki Project, the highlight being the huge Kahikatea thought to be over 700 years old. Another gem for me was seeing houhera (lacebark) in flower.

Mangawhai NZ Dotterel count.

My thanks to Gwenda for a great day at the Mangawhai wildlife reserve taking part in  a post breeding NZ dotterel count.  High tide was at 11.36am. The birds show less movement in the hour following high tide.

 We worked in three groups and I was in the purple team that had the scenic walk through the dunes to the southern limit of the reserve. This included some great dune-scapes which Gwen thought I would enjoy. They were quite amazing and I hadnt realised quite the scale of this sandspit.We then arrived at the beach where we found a dead Bullers Sheerwater that had possibly been driven in by a storm. It was time to continue and head North to cross back into the dunes to eventually arrive at the Northern end of the lagoon. We saw  the NZ Fairy tern nesting site on this route.

We also counted banded dotterel and watched flocks of godwit all dressed up in their beautiful plumage soon to fly North to Alaska to mate.. Other birds seen included VOC's, SIPO's, Turnstone and  Caspian terns.

Ambury Regional Park

Although I arrived later than planned I was still rewarded by many godwit,wrybill and pied oystercatchers on the little island just below the reserve. There were also quite a few spoonbills too. It was quite fascinating to watch Caspian terns fishing and one bird in particular took a good 20 minutes to actually swallow a huge fish it had caught. Since the decommissioning of the freshwater filtration ponds at Mangere the birds have gradually returned to this area of estuary. The godwit are preparing for their Autumn migration to Alaska and are feeding up in preparation for an incredibly  long journey.

Miranda Autumn Migrants

It's that time of the year again when the godwits are looking good and ready for their long flight to Alaska. An interesting talk at the Shore Bird Centre by Jimmy Choi about his godwit studies at Yalu Jiang and  their migration routes and the difficulties of managing this major stop off route in China was held before high tide at mid-day. Then everyone headed to the hides to watch the many wrybill, godwits and knots that were feeding. The tide was rather a high one so we had to wait a while until more mud was available for the birds. A huge number of wrybill were content on the dry mud at the edge of the stilt ponds where a lone Shore plover fended them away from a small area of territory chosen at the waters edge. The other solitary bird was the rather rare black stilt of which there was only one visible apparently there are only 100 left.

Explorama

Held at the Auckland Museum at the weekend this was a Natural History event with many displays and interesting talks on a range of different subjects. There were lizards and spiders and stick insects to look at and some to handle and other tables with interesting seaweeds and displays about our natural environment. Mike Wilcox from the Botanical Society is helping this child prepare her seaweed card.

Hauraki Gulf-Biodiversity and Biosecurity.

I have just returned from an all day excellent work shop organised by the Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity. It was held at the Tamaki campus at Auckland University. It was encouraging to see the level of interest and passion for all the good work that is going on around the Hauraki Gulf Islands.  Many restoration projects are  to restore these island to be able to act as a repository for native species, some of which just cannot survive on the mainland due to the range of predators.  The challenge for the future though is how to fund these projects as they develop and particularly in the present climate as the Department of Conservation's funds are being reduced. Although still controversial to some extent it was suggested that a greater emphasis should be made on a business model of Eco tourism and 'user pays' to visit these Islands..

Te Muri

Te Muri is a new Regional Reserve not yet opened to the public. I was fortunate to be able to have a walk with the Auckland Botanical Society around some of the native bush and wetland area of this land. Its a great site with huge potential and is situated between Waiwera and Mahurangi Regional park North of Auckland on the East coast. This will effectively stop this precious section of coastline from sub-division in the future. There is an extensive area of bush and we were pleased to see hard beech as we entered. There is also an area of wetland that will need to be fenced to prevent stock roaming into it. That applies to the woodland too so it will be some time before this park is open to the public.

Kaipara

If you like huge landscapes and birds this is a great place to visit. It was all new to me and a friend had promised that I would really enjoy this landscape. How right she was. We virtually had the island to ourselves apart from a few thousand birds that began foraging as the tide went out. We saw godwit, turnstone, Caspian tern, little tern, whimbrel, South Island pied  oystercatcher, white- fronted tern. later we were joined by two other birders  and we had an enjoyable time comparing notes. Pat had a scope and that was very useful as we were not quite so well equipped that day due to some repair work on scopes and binoculars.

It's a beautiful landscape and I look forward to returning soon

Motuihe Magic

I have this Summer had two camping expeditions to this wonderful Island and this time the aim was to mainly concentrate on some bird photographs. Each time I visit this Island there appear to be more birds and interesting animals due to the growing forest of many thousands of trees that have been planted by volunteers and also the trans location of species to the Island. This time I was particularly pleased to see flocks of whiteheads/popokotea and two  tuatara, one  just peeping its head out of its burrow about an hour after dusk.

Please see attached web galley for more photos. http://creativemomentsimages.co.nz/library/motuihesummer2013/

Off the Rails

Its been for some time a standing joke that whenever I visit anywhere that is meant to have plenty of banded rails (Moho-pereru) they suddenly become very scarce and are nowhere to be seen.
Well today was my lucky day at Tuff crater and I managed to also get a couple of very quick photos too as this very furtive bird quickly disappeared again.

This is urban ecology at its best. It doesnt get much better than this to see a rare bird enjoying it's habitat surrounded by a city.

 

Reflections 2012

What a year. Mine started in November 2011 with new directions and just kept going. I had some great adventures and met some lovely people.  It’s still going on with new experiences  and explorations. I have learnt some important lessons and shared with people that I never thought I would. Being involved with those that are also passionate  about  the Natural world has been a privilege and I want to thank you all for sharing your knowledge, help and friendship. I have found it quite humbling to be around people who are prepared to share so much.

There will be yet new directions to take  in 2013 and new places to explore.

I thank you all for adding to my life and guiding me along a path that is so enjoyable.

Wishing you all a great Christmas and a very Happy 2013

Philip

Pest Free Warrant

I was pleased to receive an invitation to the Pest free Warrant celebrations at Marina Terrace on Thursday  hosted by Auckland Council and DOC.

The Hauraki Gulf Islands are celebrating their first year of being pest free. The pest -free warrant scheme is a key part of the Treasure Islands biosecurity programme run by Auckland Council and DOC, The purpose being to give accreditation for commercial vessels and tourism operators visiting islands in the Hauraki Gulf.

 

The enthusiasm for growing the value of the islands with increased releases of birds, tuatara, etc was very easy to see amongst this group of around a hundred people.. It is estimated the Hauraki Gulf generates almost a billion dollars in revenue and carries 15.000 jobs and so it is very important to the region.

 

Party Time

It's that time of year again and to celebrate the end of a successful year for the Auckland Botanical Society a picnic was held at the Botanic Gardens followed by a guided walk around the grounds.

I was pleased to see that the dabchick on the lake, that I had previously seen, way back in March and later now had a partner and two chicks.

Sand storm

This is what happens when the wind gets up on a white sand beach. I could hardly make out this little family as the sand swirled by. They all seemed to have their eyes half closed coping with the sand and I did too as I pressed the camera shutter.

Wading at Whatipu

Well not exactly. Just a little paddling in the ponds below the cliffs behind the sand dunes with the Auckland Botanical Society (Bot Soc).  I was reminded of my camp there in this wild beautiful spot with a friend earlier in the year.

We had heard and seen in the light of our head torches above our tents after dusk,Grey Faced Petrels crashing into the pohutakawa trees on the cliff face. The sunset from this 'perched on the side of the cliff' camp site was memorable and so was the soup of flying bugs that joined us for dinner that evening.

Bot Soc met at the car park then headed up the beach in pursuit of interesting species. The humour was good, the weather too and this helped ease the way over the soft black sands of the dynamic Whatipu beach landscape.

 I really love this area because of the sheer scale of it and it always reminds me that we are pretty insignificant where nature is concerned in the scheme of things.

Everyone enjoyed botanising and Ewen Cameron our leader was keen to get us to the far end of the beach, the Karekare end to find the diminutive and very rare Eleocharis neozelandica.

My thanks to Neil Davies for the shot of me actually looking as though I am working hard at my photography.

White Sands

Today was a special day for me being the anniversary of taking a greater interest in Shore birds and to celebrate I decided to return to the white sands between Pakiri and Mangawhai. I spent the late morning photographing and watching oystercatcher and dotterel in the sandunes and a Caspian tern and gannet hunting for fish along the river.

 In the afternoon I was able to wade across the river as the tide receded and shared a scope to watch Fairy terns and Caspian terns forming nests on the exposed beach.

Leaving at dusk I returned South with a stunning glowing sunset in the West that followed me all the way home. It was the perfect ending for this significant day for me.

Morepork & an unusual nest

Last night I woke at 3am as I often do thinking of recent events but was pleased for the distraction of hearing a morepork calling way in the distance. It was probably in Northboro reserve near the mangroves.  I was just drifting back to sleep about half an hour later when the call, much louder this time, woke me as the bird had moved to somewhere in our front garden. It called for six times and I thought I would get up and try and see it but then it went silent and I listened carefully. It started up again but this time in  another direction and some way away. I am always hoping to see one up close one day in the garden.

Yesterday afternoon it was the last day of the Sculpture on the Shore show. Full of interesting art work and held at Takapuna fort reserve its a great show to raise money for Womens Refuge. This particular work by John Ferguson entitled 'The Future Laid in the Past' caught my eye and I wondered if the morepork would approve of such a nest.

deja-vu

It was almost a year ago to the week that I was inspired by a keen volunteer at the Shorebird Centre to take an interest and look closer at these wonderful shore birds.

Yesterday I headed to Pakiri in search of the seriously endangered fairy tern and was distracted by dotterel chicks, well who wouldn't be?

However one chick had not survived and I photographed the adult bird carrying its dead offspring. A rather sad sight. The other chicks  looked well and active following the parent birds across the sands.

 Meeting a very dedicated DoC person who after comparing notes allowed me to use her scope which she had trained on a pair of possibly nesting fairy terns. This  helped me focus  on the fragility of the survival of this species. There are only 40 fairy terns left. The fairy terns were too far away to successfully photograph on this day.

 It's always motivating for me to meet people who show such passion for their interests. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and good luck for success with this nesting season. I look forward to returning and hopefully to see fairy tern chicks soon.