Kaipara Catch-up

Godwit and red knots overhead. Checking traps and bait stations. A young weasel has been caught in one of the DOC 200 traps.

Weasel in DOC 200 trap

Weasel removed from trap

View South across the Kaipara to South Head

Godwit and red knots fly North to feeding areas as the tide recedes.

Godwit heading to low tied feeding areas

Godwit & 2 red knots flying to low tide feeding areas

Red knots heading to low tide feeding areas

Miranda PGP News

Headed to Miranda today to check out the birds that have arrived from the South Island and to see the remaining bar-tailed godwit that have not yet left for their migration to the Artic.

During scanning through the birds a Hudsonian godwit was spotted on the Stilt pond. It was later revealed at the introduction a to a talk by Andrew Crowe back at the Shorebird centre that JoJo the missing Pacific Golden Plover had also been recorded today at Miranda.

 JoJo had last been recorded as being in Tonga so this was great news to know that he ( originally that to be a she) had in fact returned and had completed a full migration to and from Alaska.

MINT's 2020

First stop Te Kuiti for lunch. Second stop National Park.

Trek 1- Dactylanthus-hand pollinating. A first for me and an interesting project to help DOC safeguard and hopefully increase the range of this unique parasitic plant. Heading out from Turangi in five utes we are soon at the beginning of the trail,

Heading to the Dactylanthus habitat

Dactylanthus above ground and caged to protect them

Checking the Dactylanthus cages.

Dactylanthus grows on the roots of a matai host tree

Dactylanthus male flower with pollen

Hand pollinating dactylanthus by spreading pollen.

DOC staff and volunteers

Trek 2

Lake Rotopounamu. We had missed circumnavigating this beautiful lake on several occasions but today was to be the day we finally crossed this stunning bush surrounded lake of our list. With interesting botany and birds it was sure to take us at least twice as long as most people to circumnavigate.

MINTS at first morning T spot.

North Island robin

North Island Robin

Trek 3

A perfect blue sky day to explore Pukekaikiore volcanic cone. With no marked paths this was going to be a challenge.

Photos and more to follow.

Celebration !

Ngataringa Bay at low tide

I have been trying to get dog signage into Ngataringa bay for some years now to protect the important high tide roost site. I started the process in 2013 and worked with a Council contractor on the locations that required signage.. The bylaw was updated in 2015 with the added protection ruling of 'No Dogs on Shell Banks or in Mangroves to protect Wildlife'.

Signage by Council appeared a year later in 2016 all around Shoal and Ngataringa estuaries but it was disappointing that no signage although requested and shown on the plans appeared at this location.
So a celebration today to see signage at last in two locations to protect this important site.

 The next challenge is trying to get the wording of these signs to be consistent with the 2015 updated 2012 bylaw to make sense to be meaningful to protect these areas.

Dog signage at last at Ngataringa estuary