Happy Christmas To All

 

Two Estuaries to explore.

Exploring the Ruakaka estuary today. At the edge of the estuary where the sea primrose is prevalent, I watched four banded rails pecking their way along a small inlet. These birds are usually very secretive and not easy to observe but here they seem almost quite confiding. Maybe with the large community campsite nearby they have become used to people. Many variable oyster catchers rounding up and protecting their new seasons offspring while they teach them how to search for food at the water's edge

Banded Rail foraging

Banded rail foraging in Sea Primrose (Samolus repens)

Variable oystercatcher with young

Then onto Whananaki estuary. It's always a must do to climb over the hill of Motutara Reserve to get to the little secluded beach below for a swim after also climbing down from the Trig point above at 63 metres. 

Motutara Reserve Trig point 63 metres high

Interesting number of pied shags roosting on the beach at the water's edge. Normally they are high in the trees on a rocky outcrop. Note the shag in the centre is offering some nesting material as part of courtship behavior.

19 Pied shags roosting at high tide.

 Many of the other birds observed are European varieties which fits with the landscape of a working farm. Sparrows, yellow hammers thrushes and blackbirds.

Photos and more to follow. 

Godwit event Shoal Bay Nov 2024

 Today was the sixth public godwit event at Sandy Bay Reserve on the shore of Shoal estuary. Once again the event  was managed by the local Restoring Takurunga Hauraki group (RTH). They did an excellent job of putting it all together with activities for the children and native plants for sale to help with funds for restoration work.

My role was to update information about the arrival of the bar-tailed godwits to our local estuaries after their 11,500kms flight back from their breeding grounds in Alaska.

The small flock of just under 250 godwits (Kuaka). that visit our estuary appeared right on schedule flying in from feeding at low tide to be nearer a favoured high tide resting shell bank near the reserve that made it easy for us to watch through bird watching scopes.

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

Te Manaroa Spring eco trail

 We are recently back from exploring the Waikite Valley area. The Te Manaroa spring eco trail although short is just a fascinating place.

Words can't really describe this magnificent spring as it violently discharges thousands of litres of geothermal energy into the Otamakokore stream.

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

'Pushing up the Daises' - A visit to Waikumete cemetery

 Yesterday was a Bot Soc (Botanical Society) meeting surveying the Waikumete cemetery.

This is an amazing piece of land put aside by Auckland forefathers as a burial area. During October and November, it's rich with a variety of interesting flowering wild plants.

Invasive Aristonia ecklonii

Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Coastline

 Excellent talk this morning at the Shorebird centre followed by great birding opportunities before high tide at around 3pm.  It's always good to be back on this beautiful coastline.

Between four to five thousand estimated bar-tailed godwits have arrived. Unlike our local estuaries of Shoal and Ngataringa  red knots also migrate to the Pukorokoro coastline. We think that the lack of bivalves locally is probably the issue for these birds as Food, Food, Food is the motivator for where these birds visit.

Busy with birders at the poaka/stilt hide

A leucistic godwit in the centre.

A red knot feeding near the godwit flock. 

Red knots feeding in front of godwit flock

Photos and more to follow...... 

Frogs & Ducks. What's next?

 A couple of weeks ago it was a Green Golden Bell frog sitting by our garden pond. Today it was the turn of two Mallard ducks to go for a swim. I wonder what's next?

 They seemed quite relaxed swimming around and drinking lots of water too. I so often see this species of duck in the nearby Shoal estuary and wonder how they cope with saline water. 

                                 

This distraction of watching their antics as they swam around our garden pond rather delayed our visit to Wenderholm Regional Reserve with the intention of searching for and watching banded rail. 

Arriving mid-morning with the tide low we were soon rewarded with several sightings. Unlike Shoal and Ngataringa estuary where this species is incredibly cautious due to cats and dog disturbance, they are much easier to study at Wenderholm which has restrictions on these animals.  

I had a chat to the park Ranger who was working with some other people to set up further traps for other predators such as stoats, weasels and rats.

Hello Freddy - You are safe with us!

 This is not a New Zealand endemic species of frog, but it has become a native since its introduction to NZ in 1867.

 This Green Bell frog also called the Green Golden Bell frog in Australia has just appeared sitting happily by our garden pond. It's a welcome addition to our garden wildlife.

Green and Golden Bell Frog September 2024

After the recent 'Goodbye Freddy' comments from a government coalition partner, Conservationists were incensed at the blatant disregard for our rare and endangered wildlife. 

For comparison below is a photo I took as part of a frog research monitoring project of the threatened Archey's Frog. It's an amazing endemic species only found in New Zealand and now limited to very few habitats. We will certainly not find one of these in our garden.

Archey's Frog February 2012

Another flight arrival

More bar-tailed godwit have arrived and now they number 30.

They're Back!

 The first four bar-tailed godwit have arrived after an 11,500-kilometer flight from Alaska to our local estuary. They seem in good shape and have settled in with the other shorebirds shown in the cropped photo below with a South Island pied oystercatcher and pied stilt.

 We look forward to the flock increasing as more adults and then juvenile birds take advantage of favorable winds to assist with the return journey from the Arctic breeding areas. 

 Their return to New Zealand is to take advantage of the many estuaries and harbours that offer good feeding opportunities during our southern hemisphere summer escaping the cold conditions of Alaska. 

They will stay with us in New Zealand before a return journey northward via China in March 2025 to begin the cycle again.

Four newly arrived godwit with other shorebirds 

Photos to follow.

Catchment - Water Quality

 At the setting up of a local environment group in 2017 we encouraged the idea of the importance of understanding catchment areas. The streams and waterways running into our local estuaries including stormwater infrastructure plays a big part in the health of these coastal wetlands and further out to the Hauraki Gulf.

Northboro' Reserve Stormwater

Last Thursday I joined a local group who are now taking an interest in these local water inlets to our estuaries. This week they were investigating the small stormwater pond next to the Council owned pumping station in Northboro Reserve. Some years ago, the area had stormwater caged rocks added and native plantings. A fish ladder was also added. This area is a headwater inlet of Shoal Bay estuary. The groups aim on Thursday was to take water samples and test for water quality and also to search for aquatic life.

Caged rocks to manage stormwater

Small fish ladder

This is the area that I recently wrote a short article Flagstaff morepork following the removal by helicopter of some large, tall old pine trees that were the roost of a local Morepork (Ruru) owl. I had last heard the morepork hoots the day before but then all had gone quiet for several weeks until I had a phone call from a local resident who had heard the morepork in an oak tree (another nonnative) by his house. Good news followed as further reports arrived to show that this morepork was still in the area.

In March 2018 concern was raised in the Devonport Flagstaff after dead ducks were found. Local Board members visited but seemed to have limited concern for the ducks only rather than the other wildlife that inhabits this area.  Many species do visit and some of these that I have observed and photographed (below) I included in an article published in the Flagstaff entitled 'Not Just Ducks'.

Pukeko and short finned eel

White faced heron 

Welcome swallow skimming pond for insects.

Great Cormorant (Black Shag)

Weed Capital of the World

 Thats Auckland. Today the Auckland Council contractors have cut and dealt with the pampas on this shell bank in our local estuary. 

Over the last few years our visiting and resident shorebirds have been losing suitable roosting and nesting space as the first two photos below show. Amongst the native vegetation encroaching on this shell bank is the pest plant pampas grass often seen on roadsides in the Auckland region. 

Pampas grass encroachment March 2024

BEFORE- Pampas grass with large white plumes

AFTER- Pampas grass removed

This removal work is timely before our NZ dotterel and Variable oystercatcher attempt to nest here and in September our quota of around 200 bar-tailed godwit that are site-faithful to these estuaries will arrive after breeding in Alaska. 

A big thankyou to our local Council Ranger and the contactors who have dealt with the pampas. A follow up visit is timetabled for April 2025 after the migratory birds have left.

Taraire Grove

 I have often been intrigued by this little taraire tree grove high above Te Muri beach. I visit this often area often  its one of my favourite walks .. There are seven taraire trees, one rewarewa and a nikau palm.

Taraire tree grove

Seven Taraire trees, one Rewarewa and one Nikau

Spring is on its way!

Ruakaka in Winter

 It's cool but the morning views across to the Whangarei Heads are always stunning. Its interesting to visit this Wildlife reserve

  

More to follow.

Pukorokoro /Miranda Coastline

 A stunning blue- sky day to visit the wide vistas surrounding the Pukorokoro Shorebird Centre.

Photos to follow...........

Royal Spoonbill Survey

 

I added our local sightings of spoonbill to the nationwide survey. Many thanks to Cecily and others who tipped me off about sightings locally around Shoal and Ngataringa estuaries.  The survey is being conducted this month (July) to assess the present population size of the Royal Spoonbill species. The last survey was completed in 2012 and a little under 3000 birds were counted.

More to follow........

Hauraki School Beach clean-up at Shoal Bay.

KEEPING THE SHELL BANKS SAFE FOR BIRDS.

 It was so good to meet the students' teachers and helpers from Hauraki school at the shell banks of Shoal Bay this morning.

 What a fantastic job they did of picking up tiny fragments of plastic and fishing line that can be a real problem to the birds that live and visit the estuary and those that attempt to nest here.

 I was so pleased to be able to share some information about the birds and we did see a South Island pied oystercatcher through my telescope.

Thank you to all the teaching staff who organised this including RTH and Theo, the Auckland Council Ranger who came along to hand out gloves and help with the clean-up. Most appreciated.

Smiths Bush -late post.

 Yesterday the Auckland Botanical Society visited Smiths Bush on the North Shore to check the current botanical species list of his small remnant forest of mainly Kahikatea trees. Ben led the way and Steve added some historic insights into how the bush had been damaged and also cared for over the years.

More photos to follow....

A War on Nature

Reassuring to see so many people turned out today to march down Queens Street against the contentious Fast Track Development legislation by the present Government.

Many thousands of people carrying excellent banners voiced their outrage at the anti-democratic approach this government has with its intention to Fast track seabed and other mining projects without any regard to the present environmental legislation that is there to safeguard the environment. 

Tara iti Hui (NZ Fairy Tern)

It was great to be invited to the Department of Conservation Tara iti Hui at Mangawhai village today. 

Although an early start to drive North to attend I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise as I arrived at the village library for the meeting.

 A most enjoyable day meeting up with friends some of which I have not seen for a while who are all involved in caring for a variety of habitats and species including our rarest endemic New Zealand bird the Fairy Tern Tara iti.

I also enjoyed the online contribution by Dr. Claire Greenwell from Perth in Western Australia. I have met Claire and enjoyed visiting Australian Fairy Tern sites during many of my visits to Western Australia. Claire is a Marine Scientist and is the Convenor of the Western Australian Fairy Tern Network.

North of the Brynderwyns

Cape Barren Geese at Ruakaka estuary. These geese are endemic to southern Australia.