When someone in the team said we were going on a pelican hunt they were asked if we were going to shoot them so we now prefer to call it a pelican search.So every track to the waters edge at the top of the kaipara to Dargaville was searched for a view of pelicans Pelicanus conspicillatus along the river side.
Alan E and I eventually tracked down two at Aratapu on the western side of the Dargaville river. They were on an exposed mud bank.
On the Saturday we drove up from Tinopai where we were all staying and showed the rest of the team where they were but they had moved by then.
We had to search further on Saturday afternoon and eventually found three that then disappeared, we lost them while we were seeking shade from the sun, Fortunately we soon spotted four further up the river on the western side.The rest of the team caught up and so we all saw this rare vagrant from Australia. Mission accomplished Margi.
And at Tinopai on the beach this lone godwit with a large gathering of South Island pied oystercatchers.
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